The Isshu Issue
by Aviecat
Summary: A shy Pokemon from the new 5th generation finds himself lost in Sinnoh in a time era where no one seems to know of Isshu yet. He's lost some of his memory and doesn't know how he got here. So how do you get back home in a time where it doesn't exist yet?
1. Raining

**The Isshu Issue**

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

06-11-2010: Hey everyone! Not sure whether or not this has been done by someone already, but I'm writing a fan fiction about one of the new official Pokemon that'll be made available in the new 5th generation! Seven new Pokemon just leaked out today, and for those of you who don't know already, the new region will be the Isshu Region, and one of the newly revealed Pokemon of this region is Chiramii, a chinchilla Pokemon. Please look it up if you don't know what it looks like. I just saw one image of this Chiramii, and I felt as though I must WRITE about it… So here I stand.

Since no one really knows much about the Isshu region or of the Pokemon it contains, I can't tell for sure what type of behavior this Chiramii displays. I'll just improvise throughout the story, and in the future, when Pokemon Black and White has been officially released in every Pokemon-loving nation in the world, keep in mind that this story was written before it was even released in Japan, so if some brainiac is going to come in here and point at all of my inaccurate "guess-timations", you'll just be making a fool of yourself. I'm certainly not going to keep changing the story around just to make it accurate and in par with whatever does happen in the new generation. I'm also aware of the fact that "Chiramii" is the Pokemon's Japanese name, so it'll more than likely change on its way over seas to other countries. However, I will keep referring to the Pokemon as "Chiramii" and refrain from changing it to its American, European, or whatever other name it'll gain in the future.

But anyway, to keep things safe, I'm setting this story in the Sinnoh Region: a land we should all be familiar with. So enjoy the tale, R&R, be nice, and perhaps even share your own predictions. And for the record, yes, I do look forward to owning my very own Chiramii someday when Pokemon Black and White comes to the US. Hurrah for making a team made up of Pokemon that you like and not a bunch of legendaries! ^-^

UPDATE: Well… to all who might have read this story before the update, you know that I was "assuming" that the heroes/players/protagonists from Pokemon Black and White are named after their respectful games (Male hero = named Black, Female hero = named White). So, um, after a small, rather helpful complaint, I will change White's name so that it doesn't sound too racist to readers. XD

I've actually got the perfect alternate name for her: Yin! ^-^ As you might know already, two of the legendary Pokemon from Black and White are to be based on Chinese philosophy: the concepts of Yin and Yang; Yin being the feminine characteristic, commonly displayed by the black teardrop half of the Taijitu symbol you should all be familiar with. Yang, the masculine characteristic, is Yin's counterpart, represented by the white teardrop "thingy" on the same symbol. Zekrom, the Dragon/Electric-type legendary is based off of Yin, and Reshiram, the Dragon/Fire-type legendary is based off of Yang. SO, instead of referring to Chiramii's trainer as "White" and bringing unwanted controversy upon me, I will rename her Yin, since Pokemon Black and White might be based heavily on this concept.

With that out of the way, please enjoy the story! -Aviecat

**Raining…**

It's a rare occasion today, and not just because Chimchar was stuck indoors, sulking around the lab in a very un-Chimchar-like manner. Today, the clouds brought rain, and they'd been giving it since early this morning. It was noon. Or rather, it was supposed to be. Past the grey clouds of terrible, impending lightning storms, the sun hid, and it might as well have been nighttime in the Sinnoh region. Chimchar sighed at the glumness of today, occasionally glancing down at the bright tongue of flame that seemed to be glued right onto his rear every waking moment. It's not like the hardy little fire would go out if he set foot outdoors in the pouring water. It was just a constant reminder of the fact that he was a fire type: the water's prey. How he wanted so badly to be outside with the others.

He gazed out the window longingly again, watching as Piplup splashed around in a deep mud puddle. To the side, Turtwig could be seen rolling around in the soaking grass, his eyes shimmering in utter enjoyment as he basked in the pouring… glimmering… wet… cold… rain. How blissful it would be to be a grass or a water type in the rainy season…

A female scientist, her nose in a book, walked over to where the little chimp was sulking at the windowsill. "Chimchar, why don't you go outside with Piplup and Turtwig? The rain won't hurt you…"

The tiny Pokemon narrowed its eyes at her. This was true, but why on earth would a fire type even want to consider going out there in that… that… pouring nightmare? Getting water gunned in the face seemed more pleasant…

She grinned at his serious expression. "Well, if you don't want to, Chimchar. I'll just keep you company. The lab's been really quiet as of late." She took a seat in the plastic chair positioned near the window, flipping a page in the old book that she was holding in the process.

Chimchar watched her curiously, wondering why so many of the humans in this laboratory were so fascinated with these numerous letters and words within these books. Piplup had said that there was a special combination of letters that one could use to create any word in existence… a different pattern of letters for every word. But she might have just been pulling his leg. There was no way only 26 of these letters would be able describe every word in existence!

The scientist gazed up at him, catching the chimp Pokemon's wondering expression. "Maybe someday… you'll be united with a wonderful trainer who will teach you many things. Perhaps even how to read and write!"

Chimchar blinked at her and inclined his head. Would his mind really be able to contain such a powerful skill? He doubted it, and it was not like there would be such a mentor of a trainer out there for him…

She saw the doubt in his eyes. "There are many nice trainers out there in the world. You've lived here in Sandgem Town and in this lab for all of your life, so it doesn't really look like it. But trust me. There are those who'll just touch your life and make a mark on it; Pokemon and humans alike."

Chimchar let his two rounded ears twitch slightly. She made it seem like the world was so huge… But there was no way this world was, oh say, five times bigger than Sandgem! Not even four times… It's impossible to live in such a big world and not have it make itself known right in your face. Nothing ever happened here in Sandgem, which meant that nothing was probably happening outside of its borders. This was just a world that contained some Pokemon, their trainers, other people, and some nature. And all of this… supposedly… could be described in words… which were made up of letters. Such tiny letters that were tiny like the world. Everything about life is small. It is so small, it cannot contain the bigness of miracle trainers, unknown breeds of Pokemon, other worlds, or even… the bigness of small words.

The chimp Pokemon hadn't even noticed the lady scientist take up her book and leave him to ponder on his own. She'd returned the book to its shelf and was now typing noisily on a computer at the far end of the lab. _Pitter patter patter. _Perhaps she was making small words with small letters. But… what was the point in having words if you could just speak the words instead? Without speech, all was silent. Silent like the lab. Boring. Like the lab.

The scientist looked up at the Chimchar. "Oh, so you've decided to go out?"

He gazed back at her and gave a small _eep!_ With that, he poked his head through the rubber doggy-door that had been installed at the bottom of Professor Rowan's Laboratory's front entrance.

The breeze of the grey afternoon brushed against his face. It smelled of rain. Just a sweet, calming scent of droplets of water falling from the sky. For some reason, he found the smell to be wonderfully unnerving. Wonderfully unnerving… did that even exist? He disregarded the thought and looked out into the sea. It was grey like today, the clouds, and the piercing emotion of sadness. The way the waves lapped up and seemed to lick the sandy beach seemed to be going at its own steady tempo. 1... 2... Ocean's roar… 1... 2... Ocean's roar. Chimchar wondered what the end of the ocean looked like. Maybe if he ventured far enough behind Professor Rowan's Laboratory, he'd find it. It would be like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Or, in this case, the roaring waters at the end of this world…

"CHIMCHAR!"

The chimp Pokemon was immediately attacked by a freezing wave of water. He spun around to see Piplup standing behind him, a bubbly smile drawn over her beak.

"Finally! You came out to play with us!" Piplup splashed more water from the puddle she was standing in at Chimchar, who nervously backed away from her.

"I… I was just a little bored, is all. And don't splash me like that."

"You're such a pushover when it comes to water, Chimchar! HEY, TURTWIG! Chimchar came out to play with us! We finally have enough Pokemon to play hide-and-seek with!"

Turtwig rolled off of his back in the grass he'd been laying in. He waddled over to the two, gave a welcoming squeak to Chimchar, and a very excited squeal to Piplup's statement. A man of very little words, he is.

Piplup hopped up and down. "I'm not going to count! I called it already!"

"Piplup, you never count… It's always either me or Turtwig."

"Turt!"

"Alright, alright. Let's have a competition to make this fair!"

"Good, let's do Rock, Paper, Scissors!"

"No, not fair, Chimchar! You're the only one who has enough fingers to throw scissors with!"

"Twig, Twig!"

"No, Turtwig. We can't play charades, either. Piplup and I aren't as good as expressing items using no words at all, unlike you."

"Twig…"

"How 'bout Red Snover?"

"I don't think we even have enough Pokemon to play that game with…"

"Well shoot! I dunno what we could do then… Oh! But how 'bout this? The first two people who shout 'Aye!' get to hide! AYE!"

"I-."

"Great! Looks like Turtwig is the one counting this time!"

"But I didn't say 'aye', I said 'I'…"

"One, two, three, GO!" Piplup was already off like a rocket.

Turtwig blinked in the direction she'd gone. Then, realizing that he was peeking, the tiny turtle Pokemon buried his face in the ground, counting aloud: "Turt… Twig… Turt… Twig…"

Chimchar shook his head in disbelief at how quick and hyper Piplup could be. For a penguin Pokemon, she certainly didn't look like the type who could waddle at a slow pace to get where she was going. In fact, she was so frantic and full of energy, Chimchar wouldn't be surprised at all if she were to jump off a tree, flap her wings, and actually fly.

By now, Piplup was probably already positioned in one of her usual hiding spots, which were always clever and well devised: hiding in a mailbox, crouching within pipes that were big enough to contain her, and even going as far as to retreat within other people's houses. Keeping these things in mind, Chimchar tried to find himself a good hiding spot without making things too hard for poor Turtwig. The last time they'd played hide-and-see, the turtle had been searching for Piplup for a whole hour before she burst out of the trash can she'd been using to conceal herself, complaining loudly of her rumbling stomach.

"Turty-Turt… Turty-Twig… Turty-Turt… Turty-Twig…" Turtwig was getting closer to one hundred. Chimchar leapt onto the nearest tree trunk and clawed his way up. Yes, a tree was a bit of an obvious place for a chimp to be hiding, but he might as well take it easy on the slow-paced turtle. When Piplup was the one seeking, he'd probably pick a first-class hiding spot, like the underside of someone's house, perhaps…

"Turty-Twig… Turt Turtwig!" Turtwig sprang up from his counting session and gazed around, never seeing the glowing flame within the foliage of the tree nearby. Chimchar sighed as Turtwig waddled off towards the lab, beginning to investigate discarded boxes and crumbled up newspapers: the usual hiding spots the turtle would normally hide in. Chimchar leaned harder against the tree, letting his feet dangle off of the branch he was sitting in. He began to swing them impatiently back and forth, wondering how long it was going to take for it to be his turn to seek. Rain dripped off of the tree's many leaves, making icy droplets ping onto Chimchar's head. What luck it was for him to choose such a wet hiding place, and while Turtwig was seeking, too… Maybe he should just let himself get caught. Make it seem as if he was still looking for place to hide and intentionally dash past Turtwig in the process…

He considered this, counting the annoying rain drops that were hitting him on the head… until something much larger landed on him…

Turtwig was turning over a soggy cardboard box, hoping to find Chimchar in there, but was once again unsuccessful. Before he could move onto investigating the next suspicious-looking box, however, he heard something crash behind him, followed by Chimchar's surprised yelp. Turtwig turned around and finally spied his friend collapsed on the ground at the roots of a big tree. There was something white laying on him. So Chimchar had been hiding underneath another Pokemon this whole time? How clever of him! Turtwig would have to try that out in their next round of hide-and-seek…

The tiny turtle Pokemon pranced over to the chimp Pokemon and tagged his head. "Turtwig Twig!" he cheered, meaning, _I found you! _

Chimchar crawled out from underneath the white heap of fur and shook the dizziness out of him. "Ugh… yeah… You found me…" He directed his attention to whatever the heck had fallen on him.

It was another Pokemon… one that he had never seen before. It was a white little rodent with a long, fluffy tail and large ears. The new Pokemon was asleep. Perhaps unconscious.

"Turtwig, do you know what kind of Pokemon that is?"

"Twig…"

"Yeah, I didn't think so. Maybe Piplup knows?" Chimchar began to call out to her. "PIPLUP! Come out! The game's been cancelled! We found a Pokemon!"

No response. Only the roaring of the waves at the beach answered.

"Turtwig Turt…" said Turtwig: _She probably thinks we're tricking her to come out._

"Probably. I guess we have no choice but to find-."

Chimchar was interrupted by the rodent Pokemon's sudden gasp as it stirred awake. The Pokemon shot up into a sitting position, breathing quickly.

"Turtwig!" shouted Turtwig: _Hello there! What's your name? _

"H-huh? A Turtwig…?" The rodent's eyes were big and dark. They glimmered with confusion, or perhaps it was fear…

"Are you okay?" asked Chimchar. "You fell out of that tree while I was hiding in it. You landed on top of me…"

"I fell out of a tree…?" The Pokemon eyed the tree's thick trunk. Did he even _know _how to climb a tree? He doubted it. And where exactly… was this…?

The Pokemon climbed onto its two stubby feet, gazing around at Sandgem Town. Why was this city so tiny? How could people live in such a little place…? It was nothing like… Was this even…?

Chimchar waved his hand in front of the Pokemon's face. "Hello? You still there?"

Their eyes met, the new Pokemon's ears twitching frantically. "What town is this?"

"Turtwig Turt!" _Sandgem Town!_

"W-what…?"

"He said that this is Sandgem Town."

Sandgem Town? Where in Isshu was that? He'd never heard of it! Or perhaps… this was a completely different region… But how? Why? What had he been doing earlier…? And where was his trainer…?

"What's your name?"

"My name…?"

"Yeah, we've never seen a Pokemon like you before. I'm Chimchar, the chimp Pokemon."

"I am Chiramii, the chinchilla Pokemon."

"Chinchilla Pokemon?" How long had those ever existed?

"Um… have you seen a trainer around here? She's really tall, she's a teenager, and she has long, curly brown hair. Her name is Yin…" (AN: Refer to the update in the author's note at the beginning of this chapter.)

"Yin? Never heard of her. In fact, trainers don't come here very much."

"Ohh, I didn't think so…" Chiramii stared down at his stubby little paws. How did he end up in this little town? What had brought him here? He couldn't remember anything, except for jumping… into… something… And a flash. A pure white flash. Perhaps it had been…

"Hey you guys! I've been waiting for ages for you to come find me! Was my hiding spot really that good?" It was Piplup, and she was covered from head to toe with what appeared to be dirt. Chimchar didn't even want to attempt to guess where she'd managed crawl into this whole time. "Oh, neato! Who's this guy?" She approached Chiramii and poked him on the shoulder.

_A Piplup? _Why was Chiramii suddenly surrounded by Sinnoh Pokemon? This made no sense. Sinnoh Pokemon were supposed to be quite rare in Isshu, right? "Excuse me…"

The chimp and the penguin seemed to be ignoring him. The penguin was a little upset about hiding in a Pokemon's nest or something, and asking why no one had come looking for her. And the chimp Pokemon was trying to explain… something… but kept getting cut off. Even the quiet turtle Pokemon paid Chiramii no attention. The three of them ignoring him at the same time gave Chiramii and almost familiar feeling. Was he supposed to be used to being ignored…?

"_Tsutaja…" _(AN: I don't know whether his name is Tsutaja or Tsutarja. Serebii says that the Pokemon's name is Tsutaja, but Bulbapedia says that it's Tsutarja…)

"_I swear, I saw the Pokemon Center in THIS direction! That road leads to some random shop… or something…"_

"_Tsutaja, I think I know-."_

"_No, no! We came from THAT direction! See that bridge? We were on it just now, right?"_

"_Yin, I know where-."_

"_I know, I know. But what does that imply? We were lost before while we were on it. What makes you think that going back to where we were lost would make us unlost?"_

"_It's over-."_

"_Because familiar sights can retrigger lost memories! Duh."_

"_You guys…"_

"_FINE! Since you're the brilliant trainer, let's see you get us even more lost!"_

"_You shush. At least I picked you over a Pokabu and a Mijumaru…"_

"_Oh, I'm flattered."_

"_You should be. C'mon, Chiramii!"_

"_But the Pokemon Center is over-! H-hey! Wait for me!" Chiramii raced after Yin and Tsutaja, the Pokemon Center lingering just a few blocks away from where he'd been pointing…_

"Hey! Snap out of it, dude!"

Chiramii blinked back into reality, the Piplup right in his face. He'd heard her. He'd heard Yin's voice. And Tsutaja…! How could he forget about his own teammate, Tsutaja? He'd been Yin's first Pokemon…

"Yeesh, Chimchar. The guy looks kinda pale…"

"That's because his fur is white, Piplup…"

"Turt!"

"Hiun City…"

"What?" All three of the mysterious Sinnoh Pokemon said in unison, with the exception of Turtwig's puzzled "Twig?"

Yes, that's where the flashback had taken place. He, Yin, and Tsutaja had all gotten lost in the big city. He remembered the bustling crowd, the tall buildings, the feeling of claustrophobia, and the big golden sign at the city's entrance: "Welcome to Hiun City!" Perhaps if he went there, he'd regain some more lost memories. Or maybe… if he waited long enough at the Pokemon Center… Yin and Tsutaja would come looking for him. Or had Tsutaja evolved already…?

"Hiun City. I need to get there! Do any of you guys know where it is…? Maybe if you pointed me in the right direction…?"

"Hee-what City?" Piplup tapped her chin. "I don't think there's a city like that anywhere in Sinnoh… Or at least none that I know of…"

"The Sinnoh region? This is the Sinnoh region?"

"Duh. Where'd you think you were? Kanto?"

"I-I thought that I was in Isshu…"

"Isshu?" Chimchar and Piplup asked at the same time. They stared at each other. Kanto… Johto… Hoenn… and Sinnoh. Those were the four regions, right? Where or what was this Isshu?

Chiramii was baffled, too. The Sinnoh region, as well as the three other lands, were supposed to be so very far away from Isshu… or at least that's what he remembered hearing very faintly. In fact, the only way one could reach another region was by boat or plane from Isshu. A boat…

"Th-then in that case, could you tell me where the nearest dock or ferry is? I-I think I've lost my trainer…"

"A dock… I know that there's probably two somewhere in Sinnoh, but I don't remember where…" Piplup searched her mind. Being the adventurous one, she was interested in studying the maps and pictures of Sinnoh that lingered around the lab. "But… none of us know where this Isshu region is. In fact, I don't think even the Professor knows where that is…"

"You mean Professor Araragi…?"

"No. I meant Professor Rowan…"

"Oh…"

"But!, you might find someone who knows more about Isshu than us in Jubilife City! It's one of the biggest towns in Sinnoh, and it's close by. Hundreds of people live there. Who knows? You might just run into someone else who's from Isshu or whatever land you're from. As of late, a ton of people have been flocking there from all over Sinnoh because of this new Global Terminal thing that's been built there. That Terminal allows you to interact with people from all over the world, so maybe you can get in touch with the Isshu region there…"

Chimchar listened silently to Piplup's words. Hundreds of people? Was the world really that much bigger?

"Then where is Jubilife City located…?"

Piplup pointed at the road that ventured into the dangerously tall grass just behind Professor Rowan's lab. "You'll have to venture down Route 202. There's a ton of tall grass in there and some very uncivilized Pokemon to be found, so… be careful, I guess."

Chiramii flattened his ears. Wild Pokemon? He didn't know whether or not he even remembered how to battle, much less perform the four moves he'd been carefully practicing over and over again…

Chimchar raised a brow at Chiramii's blank expression. "Are you okay?"

"I… I'm fine. Thank you for the directions." The chinchilla Pokemon gave a small nod to the three Pokemon and quietly made his way towards the dangerous route.

"Chiramii," said Chimchar. "what moves do you know?"

"I… don't remember. I don't remember anything about myself. Not how I got here, not where my home is, not even my own attack moves." He reached up and placed a paw on his cheek. Did he even know himself? "But… it's not your problem. I'm sorry for burdening you."

Chiramii soon found Chimchar's hand on his shoulder. "I'll go with you to Jubilife City."

Piplup jumped up. "Chimchar! Are you crazy? The Professor will have a fit if you suddenly disappeared!"

"Twig! Twig!"

"It'll only be for a while. Once Chiramii has a lead on how to get back home, I'll come back to the lab. The Professor is all the way over in Canalave City, so he should be gone for a while. This should only take about an hour."

"Chimchar…" Piplup straightened up. "No fair! You don't know anything about Jubilife City! I wanna go, too!"

"Piplup, you can't. You're not as good at defending yourself against other Pokemon as I am."

"Oh, well thanks a lot…"

"If you and Turtwig stay here and pretend to be playing hide-and-seek, it'll look like I'm still hiding. Keep that up until I come back, and it'll be as if nothing ever happened."

"Well… I still feel like I'm the one who should be going…"

Chimchar smiled at her. "Patience. I'm sure that with a little patience, someday, you'll get to travel all over the Sinnoh region like you've always wanted to."

"Patience is the one thing I don't have." she shrugged. Piplup then nodded at Turtwig and two of them hopped into a fake game of hide-and-seek, Turtwig being the seeker again.

Chimchar turned to Chiramii. "Th-thank you." said the shy chinchilla Pokemon. "I-I'll try to not get on your nerves…"

"No, no. You won't get on my nerves. Besides, I'm doing you this favor as a chance to not only help you, but so that I may see how big this small world really is."

As the two started towards Route 202, Chimchar didn't even notice that it had stopped raining and that the sun now shone through the clouds. When he finally did notice the absence of the rain, he almost… missed it…


	2. Discovering

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Huh. I started out this Fan Fiction with the intentions that it would be a rather short one, but I've recently had a lot of plot ideas zooming into my head in all directions, so it might actually turn out to be a somewhat-long-one. Anyway, please R&R. I'm sorry that last chapter was kinda long, but it came out a lot better than I'd planned it would. I hope that it caught your interest and that this chapter will keep you somewhat engaged in this story. So um… thank you for bothering to look into this chapter! Enjoy chapter two! ^-^

…**Discovering…**

Chimchar was poking his head through the tall grass. What a wild route… wasn't there anyone out there who was willing to at least tend to the grass once in a while?

Chiramii followed eagerly, trying to stay both as close to Chimchar as possible, and keep a safe distance from that intriguing flame on his backside. "I usually don't journey through the tall grass… or at least not the ones in Isshu. When Yin and I would go through a new route, she'd let me sit on her shoulder."

"I thought you said that you don't remember anything about yourself."

"I do… but they're very faint, small memories. I can't recall anything that's big and important, like what brought me here to Sinnoh. I do remember the simple things, though; like riding in the basket on Yin's bicycle, and looking at her pretty gym badges."

"How did you remember that there was a big city like Hiun in Isshu?"

"It's strange… It's as if I can regain some of my past experiences through flashbacks if something familiar happens to me here in Sinnoh. The way you and Piplup were bickering… It reminded me of Yin and her first Pokemon, Tsutaja…"

"What's a Tsutaja?"

"It's a…" He met Chimchar's quizzical stare. "N-never mind…" Why didn't anyone know about the Isshu Pokemon, either? It was as if he'd fallen into a world where Isshu didn't even exist… But that was impossible! Islands as big as Isshu take millions of years to form, and thousands more to gain such a booming population. This Sinnoh region, with its stylish homes and this "Professor Rowan's" laboratory intact, was modern enough to be set in the same time era as Isshu. Plus, this "Global Terminal" made the Sinnoh region seem just as high-tech. There was no way Isshu didn't exist. So why didn't anyone know about it?

A rustling in the grass answered his pondering thoughts. The sound came from his left, followed by the sound of a soft footstep accidentally snapping a twig.

Chimchar looked in that direction, a flame in his eyes suddenly igniting. "I don't think we're alone."

Chiramii tensed up. A wild Pokemon? Why now? He wasn't prepared! There was no way he could…

"HYAAA!" A tiny blue Pokemon with big ears and a pair of butterscotch eyes shot out of the grass, lunging right at Chiramii. Upon impulse, Chiramii threw himself towards it and began to slash violently at the wild Pokemon back and forth, allowing little or no time for the foe to strike back. Chimchar only stood back and watched the sight of Chiramii attacking the foe in midair before the damaged Pokemon crumbled to the ground and the enraged chinchilla landed daintily back on his own two feet.

Chimchar blinked. "What the heck was that all about? I thought you said you didn't remember your own moves, either…"

Chiramii stared at the hurt Pokemon before him. "I remembered something… I remembered my favorite attack: the Sweep Slash."

"Sweep Slash?" It was another alien aspect of Chiramii that Chimchar wasn't familiar with.

The defeated Pokemon shook its head and crawled back onto all fours. "I… I'm… You have honorable power, stranger."

Chiramii gasped. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! You just surprised me…"

"It was because you also surprised. Never before have I seen a strange, white Pokemon like you." The wild Pokemon straightened herself out. "I am Shinx. I apologize for that savage introduction. I was only trying to defend my home. This is my family's territory, and I didn't expect to see such a strange Pokemon wandering through it… I mean no offence."

"For a wild Pokemon, you sure sound civilized and knowledgeable." said Chimchar.

"That is because this part of the route is very close to the entrance of Jubilife City. On numerous occasions, I sneak into town and find my way into Jubilife's Trainer school. Not only can humans learn within its walls, but Pokemon as well. I feel that I must bask myself in knowledge if I am going to protect my family someday. _To know the enemy is to know oneself, _they say."

"A school?" asked Chiramii. Maybe he could learn more about how to get home. There were normally globes of the world in schools, right? "How far is it from here to Jubilife City?"

"Only but a short walk away. As an apology for attacking you, I will guide the two of you the rest of the way. I am not the only territorial Pokemon on this route and you are sure to be attacked again without my help. I will also guide you back to Sandgem Town, if you intend on returning to it."

Chimchar took her paw and shook it. "Thanks for the help! I'm Chimchar. Do you happen to know anything about the Isshu region? My friend, Chiramii, is from there."

"Chiramii…" She stared at the chinchilla Pokemon curiously. "I can't say that I know of any Isshu region. Terribly sorry."

"Well, that's fine. When we get to Jubilife City, I'm sure we'll find someone who does know. Right, Chiramii?"

"If Jubilife City is anywhere close to being as big as Hiun City, then it's possible…"

It wasn't. As the three finally poked their heads out of the jungle of untamed grass, Chiramii could almost feel his heart sink. Jubilife was big, but not big enough to contain a possible hint about Isshu. It had tall buildings, but they weren't the towering skyscrapers that Chiramii was used to seeing. Roads crisscrossed here and there, but there weren't as many as he'd hoped there'd be. People raced to get where they were going, but no one walked in tight groups. No one was clustered together, fighting through the crowd. In fact, there was plenty of elbow space between pacing people to allow one to dance wildly, if anyone in Sinnoh was really that giddy. So… this was supposed to be one of Sinnoh's largest, most high-tech cities?

Chimchar's reaction contained much more elation, however. "Wow! So this is the world?"

"Amazing, isn't it?" asked Shinx. "Coming from Sandgem Town, this must be very new to you."

The chimp's eyes shimmered. So many sights and sounds! Countless people! Tall… such impossibly tall buildings! This… this town alone was probably eight times bigger than Sandgem. Perhaps larger! And this was just one of the many locations in Sinnoh. How many other bustling cities like this existed? And this was just a city within one of the four regions. Did Kanto have its share of locations like this? Even Hoenn and Johto? What if… what if the world… wasn't so small? What if there existed thousands, millions, even BILLIONS of people and Pokemon in the world?

Where had he been all his life? This feeling… was like being completely reborn.

Shinx looked away from the amazed Chimchar and directed her attention to that odd chinchilla Pokemon. His eyes were clouded with doubt for some reason. A veil of hopelessness enveloped him. "What troubles you?" asked the kindly Shinx.

He met her concerned stare. "N-nothing. Really."

"You have your doubts, don't you?"

"I… not really… but… ugh… yeah. I do."

She only smiled and looked away. "You've found yourself in quite the predicament. But, I can sense that there is something special about you. An inner strength that not even you are aware of. You will find your way back home. I know it."

"How do you know that?"

"The way you attacked me earlier… I felt as if the real you is locked within yourself. It wants to break free, but it can't, unless the conditions are right. I know that once this true you emerges from its dormant state, you will know what to do. Whether you learn anything or nothing from this visit to Jubilife City, you may find your way back home eventually. It is inevitable."

Chiramii looked down at his feet. So the answers were within himself? It was like having a puzzle book, but with the answer key ripped out and hidden. And the true him? Hadn't he only lost his memories? Or had he become another person entirely? This was all so confusing…

Shinx gestured with her head to the north. "The Trainers' School should be down that way," She gestured to the west. "and the Global Terminal that you mentioned is in that direction. People around here are used to seeing Sinnoh Pokemon running around on their own, but Chiramii might draw too much attention. Be wary."

"Aren't you coming with us?" Chimchar asked.

"I'd prefer it if I stayed here to continue guarding my territory. If you ever need me or if you wish to go back to Sandgem, I'll be waiting." With that, Shinx dashed back into the tall grass.

Chimchar turned to Chiramii. "I didn't realize how much attention you may attract. You'll have to stay within the shadows and occasionally hide behind benches and trash bins. Since there's probably tons of people there, I'll go check out the Global Terminal. Today's Sunday, so no one should be at the school right now. You should try to find something out there."

Chiramii gulped. He hadn't anticipated being left alone. "I-I'll do that."

With that said, Chimchar bolted into the city, displaying much more excitement than seriousness. He looked about him at the many odd shapes and buildings that he was now amongst. It was a horrible wish, but Chimchar hoped that neither he nor Chiramii would discover any useful information today. Then maybe they could come back here tomorrow to search again. Or even the day after that…

Chiramii certainly wasn't enjoying this as much as Chimchar. Not only were his thoughts clouding up with doubt, but he wondered just what would happen to him if anyone in Sinnoh were to see him. What would they do to him? Perhaps stick him in a scary, cold laboratory? Experiment on him? Or maybe they'd just end his life right then and there by dissecting him.

Dissection… Oh, he just wanted to get home!

Chiramii entered the city with caution, taking immediate cover behind a trash bin. It wreaked horribly, but Chiramii wanted to stay there forever, fearing that he may make the deadly mistake of tripping on his way over to his next hiding spot. He eyed his target - the water fountain - carefully. If he lingered behind this trash bin any longer, someone was bound to pass by and notice him. And if no one took notice of the sight of his fur, they might catch the whiff of the assorted garbage that was beginning to cling onto his fur. He really had no choice but to hop from one hiding spot to the next until the Trainers' School came into view.

Not overflowing with confidence, the tiny chinchilla Pokemon abandoned the trash bin and darted full-speed towards the water fountain. But just before he could dive behind it safely, a young lady suddenly came between him and his goalpost. She hadn't seen him. She just happened to be walking by, carrying an oversized, sagging purse. His heart racing, Chiramii could think of nothing to do but jump into her open purse. He had to keep moving, and waiting for this girl to pass by would probably mean his life…

Chiramii flung himself with all of his might into the girl's bag, and she never noticed him. Probably because she had a set of earphones jammed into her ears and she was listening to her favorite band at the maximum volume. Safe in the depths of her purse, Chiramii let out a long sigh. His heart was still racing at the speed of light and he shook with fear. Nobody had seen him, right? Right?

"Ohh, how repulsive! Who invited you in here?"

Chiramii's eyes adjusted to the darkness within the girl's spacious carrying bag. Sitting across from him, a Pichu with two pink bows on her ears, was pinching her nose shut.

"I-I-I-I'm sorry. I was only-!"

"Ew, you reek of garbage! I bet my mama doesn't even know you're in here! No, she wouldn't do that to precious me… I'm telling on you!"

"No, please! Don't do that! I'm only-!"

"Hmm…" The Pichu stared at Chiramii from the very tip of his big ears to the end of his furry tail. "Now that I get a better look at you, you're kinda cute!" She giggled. "Did you really risk getting in trouble by jumping into mama's bag just to see little old me?"

"I was only…"

"Teehee! I like you! Please, allow me to introduce myself." She removed her hand from her nose and pretended to do a regal curtsey. "I am Princess Esmeralda the Pichu! But my mama just calls me Princess. Who are you, daring prince?"

"Prince…? I'm Chiramii… I was just on my way to-."

"Prince Chiramii… Ooh, it has such a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Okay, I won't tell mama about you. And you can stay here with me for as looooong as you want to! Aren't you special?"

"Actually, I was on my way to the Trainers' School…"

"Oh, so you're brave _and_ you strive to be knowledgeable? Heeheehee! If it wasn't for your terrible stench, you'd be my perfect Prince Charming!" The Pichu stood up and poked her head out of the opening in her trainer's bag. "We're approaching the Trainers' School right now, Prince Chiramii."

Chiramii went over to her and stuck his head out of the purse, too. It was a modest little building that didn't beg for much attention. Its roof was a bright orange red, and a Pokeball was painted over the entrance door.

"I guess that's my cue to leave." Chiramii said, already positioning himself to leap out of the purse and retreat into the building.

The pampered Pichu next to him frowned. "Already? You aren't going to stay with me any longer?"

"I can't. I'm… I'm… I'm on a secret mission…!" Even Chiramii couldn't believe the incredible lie that had left his lips.

The Pichu blinked at him with a puzzled expression. "A secret mission…?" Her eyes suddenly lit up like fireworks. "That's SO cool! So you're not a prince at all, aren't you? You're Super Secret Agent Chiramii!"

"I, ugh…"

"No, no. Don't worry." Her voice sank into a hushed whisper. "I won't tell anyone."

Chiramii could only force a smile onto his face.

Seeing that the door into the school was opened by a small crack, Chiramii quietly jumped out of the stranger's purse and scurried over to the building's entrance. As he fled, he could hear the Princess Pichu calling out to him: "Don't forget about me, Agent Chiramii! Let's meet again someday!"

-x-

At the Global Terminal, Chimchar noted that there was certainly no other name more perfect for it. "Global" was quite possibly the only way to describe it. From all corners of the large building, trainers with exotic Pokemon that were literally impossible to find anywhere in Sinnoh proudly showed off their rare teams. Most of the humans in this building were flocking over to the oversized computers known as the "Global Trading System". From those computers, trainers were united with even more exotic Pokemon. There were lights, maps, and machines set up all over the place. Everyone was chattering… some people even shouted out to other trainers from across the room. This terminal was a noisy one, but it aroused excitement within the small town Chimchar.

Chimchar found himself staring at the magnificent, floating globe that sat at the center of the terminal. It was pretty, and he could see many lands and locations mapped all over it. But… he couldn't tell which continent was which. Was that large landmass supposed to be Sinnoh? Or maybe it was actually Hoenn… Perhaps Piplup _should _have come on this trip.

"It's a big world, isn't it?"

Chimchar met eyes with the soft-spoken Pokemon next to him: an Alakazam. His arms were crossed, eyes twinkling with age and intelligence. "Do you see that little island right there? The one with the tall volcano?"

Chimchar looked up at the globe. It was very hard to notice, but on a tiny patch on the globe, three islands huddled together. The largest one boasted a tall mountain within its boarders.

"That is One Island." said the Alakazam. "It was my former home. But, I suppose this land of Sinnoh is where I must live out the rest of my life."

"Sinnoh is a great place to live." Chimchar said, seeing a hint of sadness in Alakazam's eyes.

"I'm sure it is. But… despite how small my island was, there is nowhere else I'd rather be."

_Is this how Chiramii feels right now? _thought Chimchar. _Perhaps this is what it is to be homesick…_

The Alakazam bowed his head. "Terribly sorry for bothering you. I'll take my leave…"

"Oh, wait!"

Alakazam glazed down at the young Chimchar.

"Please, sir. Could you tell me where on this globe the Isshu region is? I… can't read."

Alakazam stared at the globe, reading over the labels of the numerous lands and islands, seeing and understanding the different letter patterns. "I don't believe there is such a region in our world."

"Oh… really? You sure?"

"Positive. Look here, this is Sinnoh, and there's Kanto. Over in that corner is Hoenn, and Johto is right there. Everything else on this globe is made up of either sea or islands." He looked down at Chimchar. "Where did you hear of this Isshu region?"

"I… ugh… read it in a book. A fantasy one…"

"Ah, but you said that you couldn't read."

Chimchar gulped. "I'm sorry for bothering you, sir…"

He began to rush for the exit, but in a kind voice, the Alakazam said, "Come here."

Chimchar nervously backed up to where he'd been standing earlier.

Alakazam pointed at the globe. "Do you see that word right there?"

Chimchar nodded. It was a funny looking word that had funny looking letters. One letter slithered like an Ekans. Another was in a round circular shape, like a hole in the ground or Snorlax's gaping mouth.

"That word says 'Sinnoh'."

Chimchar stared at it harder. "It does? Really?"

"Yes." Alakazam dragged his finger over to another word. "This one says 'Cinnabar Island'."

"'Cinnabar Island'…" Chimchar looked around the Global Terminal and pointed at one of the signs on the wall. "What does that say?"

"That says 'The Global Terminal: Your gateway to the whole world.'"

"Does it really say that? Words can say that much?"

"Words can say anything. It is because of these words that we are able to communicate without speaking. We may talk to someone from very far away through the alphabet, and we can keep stories in words so that they may never die."

"Wow…" Chimchar was discovering so much today. Most of all, he discovered that everything he'd pictured about the world was wrong. It was big. Huge, even. And words… well… how had he gone without words his whole life? These little letters and these little words… were not so little after all.

"To read and write is a necessity of life." Alakazam said. "With literacy, much can be learned and accomplished."

"If it isn't too much…" said Chimchar. "Could I… see what my name looks like? I'm Chimchar."

Alakazam grinned at the newly found interest in the young Pokemon's eyes. With his telekinesis, the wise Pokemon retrieved a pen and a piece of paper from the receptionist's desk. Letting his mind do the work, he let the pen dance upon the paper until the word "Chimchar" had been scribbled across it. "Here you are." he said, psychically pushing the paper into the awaiting Chimchar's hands.

Chimchar stared at his name, loving the way it was so uniquely shaped. He liked how there was a big letter that was shaped like a crescent moon at the beginning of the word, and a baby version of it cuddled up in the middle. These eight little letters, combined in this order, were him. This was who he was in paper form. The chimp traced over his name with his finger, wondering if, with some practice, he'd be able to write out his own name wherever and whenever he wanted to. With this, he could tell anyone who he was without saying it. This name… this writing… these letters… everything was utterly amazing.

"Thank you, sir." Chimchar said to the kindly stranger who'd opened his eyes to the wonders of writing. However, the Alakazam was nowhere to be seen.

-x-

Chiramii peeked into the school. There were no lamps turned on within the building, but since it was a sunny and brilliant day outside, the windows provided quite a bit of reading light. Seeing no one inside, the chinchilla Pokemon very cautiously allowed himself to enter the school. All was still within its walls. The black board had been scribbled upon in chalk with notes about status problems and pop quiz dates to look out for. Desks had been carefully arranged in perfect alignment, their chairs pushed in place. Shelves burst greedily with books. And in the corner of the classroom, there was a wooden, well-crafted stand. Upon that stand, there was a globe of the world.

Chiramii raced over to it on all fours, his long tail trailing behind him. From the ground, he could see large continents and small islands dotted all over the sea. There was Kanto… Johto, too… but he couldn't see anything else from the poor angle he was staring at. Chiramii jumped up, reaching with his paw to spin the globe just a bit, but he couldn't reach it. The stand that it was perched upon was simply too tall for him. Maybe he should climb onto something…

He studied the bookshelf that was set up next to the globe. All he had to do was hop onto it. But could he really jump that high? There was only one way to find out… Chiramii gathered all of his strength, crouched down, and sprang towards the top of the shelf. But, the taste of victory did not meet him. In fact, the only thing he could taste was the worn spine of an old book as he rammed into it with his face. Stunned at his failure, Chiramii sank back down to the ground, the heavy book that he'd disturbed tumbled out of the bookshelf and landed right on top of him. There was a painful squeak from Chiramii as it hit him.

"Hm? Is anyone there?" The book was lifted off of Chiramii, and he was suddenly face-to-face with a grinning Slowking. "Why, hello there, young pupil! What ever are you doing here on a Sunday?"

Chiramii sat up and rubbed his throbbing head. "Are you the teacher of this school?"

"Heavens, no! My human trainer is the mentor of this establishment. I am but a teacher's aid. I keep the school tidy and ready for the children while they are out of school."

"Oh." Chiramii was helped onto his two feet. "Sorry if I messed anything up. I just needed to see the globe."

"It is no problem! Why, if that was all that you wanted to do, you could have asked!" The Slowking returned the heavy book that had fallen on Chiramii to its proper location on the bookshelf and removed the globe from its stand. He handed the large sphere to the chinchilla Pokemon. "Look at it for as long as you like! I still haven't finished cleaning the chalkboard."

As the Slowking approached the board and began to sweep over it with a large eraser, Chiramii called out, "Don't you… um… notice anything about me?"

"Yes, you are quite clumsy when it comes to hopping on shelves."

"But… haven't you seen a Pokemon like me anywhere else before?"

"No, I can't say that I have. But, unknown species of Pokemon are just amongst the many mysteries of life, and I won't judge you for it. Now, my brother… he'd react quite differently to your presence. He's a mastermind when it comes to unseen Pokemon, and he's always seeking out new species and more information about them."

"Who is your brother?"

"He is the Slowking that serves as a librarian's assistant in the Canalave Library. Quite the scholar, he is!"

"Oh…" Chiramii, his prize in his hands, stared at the large marble of a globe. It was beautifully crafted, with the mountains of the world popping out of their regions to give them a life-like, touchable feel. Each name of an ocean, island, and region had been carefully written out in skillful calligraphy, the tails of the Y's swirled fancifully in all directions. But… somehow… Chiramii knew that Isshu would not be on this globe. Not just because the globe looked rather old and outdated, but because, just as he'd thought, Isshu didn't exist.

The Slowking caught sight of him. "Why, young one! What ails you?"

"What? Oh, I'm…" he caught sight of the chalkboard where Slowking had just been writing. "…fine." Keeping his eyes on the board, Chiramii offered the globe back to Slowking, who carefully set it back on its stand, the Sinnoh region facing the class.

"Mister Slowking," Chiramii said. "is that today's date?"

"Hm? 'April the seventh'? Oh, goodness me!, it isn't! That is tomorrow's date. I've written it on the board so that the teacher won't have to when she arrives in class tomorrow morning. Why do you ask?"

So today was April 7th, 2010? April the seventh… why did that date sound familiar? Should he… know that date…?

_Today is the 7__th__. It started out as a normal April day. But is it also the day that I die? It sure looks like it. I wonder if anyone will miss me? And a noble death… this is the last way I'd ever expect myself to die. Such bravery could only be displayed by Yin. So why am I doing this? To protect her? To protect the world? Or maybe… this is just my fate…_

"That's it!" Chiramii said aloud so suddenly, Slowking brought a hand up to his heart.

"Goodness!, what? What is it? What ever are you talking about?" asked the teacher aid.

"April the seventh… Whatever brought me here to Sinnoh, it happened on that day! But… the year is 2010, right? Wasn't it 2011 when it happened…?"

So he was in the year 2010... This time that he was in… this was a time zone set before he'd met Yin. But even so, shouldn't people in Sinnoh know where Isshu is by now? Sure, he'd somehow managed to travel back in time, but not so far back that Isshu didn't exist yet! In fact, he remembered hearing that Isshu and the other four regions had had a long history of communicating with one another for centuries. Centuries. So why wasn't Isshu on the globe?

"You were… brought into Sinnoh?" Slowking had fallen onto his knees next to Chiramii. "Then where are you really from?"

"I am from the Isshu region."

"Isshu? Why, I've never heard of such a place!"

"I know… no one ever has. I know that Isshu exists. I've lived there, battled there, trained there, I've even made unforgettable friends there. But now, all of a sudden, it's as if it doesn't exist. I… I'm so confused. I just want to go back home…"

"Isshu…? Is that what it's called…?"

Chiramii looked up at the Slowking.

Slowking was tapping his temple in deep thought. "Young one, I cannot help you, but my brother may be of assistance. You see, for years, he's always wanted proof that there once existed a very large continent in the seas far away from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. He has but one piece of evidence, but that in itself is not enough. You… you seem to be from this land that my brother speaks of. Perhaps the two of you could work together and find out what really happened."

"Y-your brother? The one who lives in Canalave City?"

"But of course! As a matter of fact, Canalave City is not too far from here. It's to the west of Jubilife City, just past the fishing area on Route 218. Ah, but you are small and wouldn't be able to swim across… But, not to worry! A good friend of mine can easily get you across to the other side of the route!"

"Chiramii…"

Chiramii turned around and found Chimchar peeking into the schoolhouse.

Slowking rose from where he'd been kneeling. "Ah, another guest! Have you also come to learn, or do you and the nice chinchilla Pokemon know one another?"

"Oh, so you met Chiramii already?"

Chiramii approached Chimchar. "Did you find anything out about Isshu? I couldn't, but the Slowking says that his brother might be able to help me."

Chimchar looked over at Slowking. "Can he really?"

"I can't say for sure that the land that my brother has been researching is the Isshu that you speak of, but it's possible that they are connected."

"So, I guess that means you'll be moving forward and I'll be heading back home." Chimchar said to Chiramii.

Chiramii's ears flattened. "If… if I can't go back home, I'll come visit you in Sandgem Town… someday."

"I'm sure we'll see each other again in the future. For now, just concentrate on getting home. I wish you luck." Chimchar took Chiramii's paw and shook it.

It felt like good-bye for good, but Chimchar concluded that someday, he and Chiramii would cross paths again. And the next time they met, Chimchar promised himself that by then, he will know how to read and write. It was a difficult goal. Impossible, even. But like Chiramii - whose home probably didn't exist, whose memory was hopelessly lost, and who was alone in a world he'd never set foot in - he wouldn't give up.

What an inspiration the shy chinchilla was… Just this morning, Chimchar had doubted the world, words, and himself. What had he become? He was a completely new person, and not even a full day had passed. As he shook his hand, Chimchar wondered who Chiramii was, too. This docile Pokemon who wouldn't hurt a fly… Who was he really?


	3. Rhyming

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Aye, I forgot about the whole "disclaimer-so-I-don't-get-my-buttocks-sued" thing. *AHEM*

I do not own Pokemon, its games, the anime, the manga, or anything. They all belong to their rightful owners. I only own this very rushfully-done story, and that goes for both of the previous chapters and every chapter that will follow.

There's your disclaimer. Now enjoy the rest of the story, thanks for looking, and many, many thank-you's for the constructive criticism and nice reviews. ^-^

…**Rhyming…**

Chiramii watched with interest as Slowking fastened a piece of ham to the end of his fishing rod and skillfully thrust the bobber out into the water. Route 218 was nearly dominated by the huge lake that prospered within it, and like Slowking had promised, Chiramii was definably too small to doggy-paddle his way over to the other side where Canalave City loomed.

"So… who is this friend of yours?" Chiramii asked, already taking a seat at the lake's edge next to Slowking. Having accompanied White during her numerous attempts to fish up some Pokemon, he knew by now that fishing was a slow, rather boring process.

"He is a rather shy fellow. Fortunately, he seems to recognize my bobber, and he'll only come out if you give him ham. He is very obedient and will certainly get you to Canalave City in the blink of an eye."

"What kind of Pokemon is he?"

"Well, if I told you that, you wouldn't want his help!"

Chiramii gulped at his answer.

At almost the same time, the brightly colored bobber that had been floating around at the water's surface suddenly dunked into the lake with an interesting _plop!_ Slowking yanked back on the rod and began to reel in the captured Pokemon with questionable speed. Engaged in a playful round of tug-of-war, Slowking grinned down at Chiramii, saying, "It looks like my friend is willing to lend you a hand… or a fin." Closer and closer, the dark silhouette of a large Pokemon began to slither towards the surface, doubling in size dramatically the more Slowking reeled in his catch. Chiramii could only bring a helpless paw up to his cheek, wondering whether or not a small rodent such as him would look edible to a horrible sea monster.

Whatever had been chewing on the bobber released its grip abruptly, allowing the Slowking to finish reeling in his line. Soon after, the surface of the lake ripped for only a split second before a huge head shot out of the water and let out a ferocious roar that made Chiramii nearly soil himself.

Slowking laughed heartily as the frightened chinchilla Pokemon retreated behind him. "Chiramii, this is my good friend, Gyarados!"

The blue sea serpent let out another prideful roar, its fangs glinting in the sunlight.

"My, my, Gyarados! You look well today! And you've grown a tad larger since the last time we met. How have the waters been as of late? Did the Magikarp eggs ever hatch?"

Gyarados let out a series of low growls and cries, making Chiramii peek out at him from behind Slowking very cautiously.

"You see, Chiramii," Slowking began. "This Gyarados, when he was a tiny Magikarp, used to be good friends with the Shellder that caused me to evolve. The two of them had been playing near the surface of th the water when I happened to come across the lake with a King's Rock at hand, hoping to evolve. And the young Shellder, energetic and naïve, sensed my presence and pounced out of the water, biting me on the head and transforming along with me during my evolution."

Chiramii looked up at the Slowking's head, barely noticing the pair of large, menacing eyes that were on the back of his oversized crown. They seemed to be staring right back, causing the timid chinchilla to back away from the royal Pokemon.

Slowking tapped his Shellder crown proudly. "When Shellder bit into my head, it injected a type of poison into my brain, making me just a tad more intelligent than your average Pokemon. With this new knowledge, my transformation into Slowking was complete! Alas, the lonely Magikarp, who had no other friends besides the Shellder who'd evolved with me, was left to himself. So every day after that, whenever I took to my fishing rod and tried my hand at fishing, the Magikarp would vengefully snap onto my bobber the moment it hit the water, and take my bait until I either discontinued fishing or ran out.

"Feeling pity upon it, I decided to begin feeding the Magikarp through this method as a way of apologizing for taking its friend away from it. I fed the Magikarp all kinds of bait and meats, but he always seemed to be a bit less annoyed with me on days that I brought ham. On these days, he would sometimes leap out of the water after he'd snagged some of the pork off of my bobber, attempting to perform a few fanciful tricks in the process. Eventually, a friendship bloomed between us, and that friendship stayed intact even after the little Magikarp grew into the mighty Gyarados he is today."

Gyarados let out another ferocious roar, but the roar contained a bit more friendliness this time.

"Now Gyarados," Slowking said, speaking to his gigantic companion. "This tiny Pokemon that I have with me is also my friend. He needs your help. Could you make some kind of a bridge for him to the other side of the lake? He wants to get to Canalave City a soon as possible."

The Gyarados gave another loud reply, and soon after, lowered his head so that it was perpendicular to the very edge of the lake where Chiramii was standing. The huge serpent of a Pokemon then stretched out his great body until the tip of his tail touched the other side of the lake, making a live, floating bridge for Chiramii to the other side.

Slowking nodded. "I thank you, Gyarados! This is perfect and should serve Chiramii well." He turned to his smaller companion. "Well, you're off, little chinchilla. Be sure to thank Gyarados for this."

Chiramii gulped for the hundredth time that day, approaching the beast's toothy face warily. And, seeing the fear in the tiny Pokemon's eyes, the surprisingly sensible Gyarados looked away from him.

Gathering up his courage, Chiramii forced himself to leap onto the Gyarados's shoulder, beginning his hike to the other side. The monster's scales were surprisingly slippery, and the unnerving sharpness of his pointed back fins only distracted Chiramii. Trying to direct his attention to the other side of Route 218, Chiramii scurried across Gyarados's bridge and practically threw himself onto the safe, grassy ground when it was all over.

Gyarados pulled himself back into the water, glancing over at Chiramii to ensure that the tiny chinchilla hadn't fallen off his back halfway through.

On the other side of the lake, Slowking cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting, "Canalave City is just ahead of you! Go across the in-town bridge, and the library should be on your right! You can't miss it! I wish you luck, my tiny pupil!" With that, Slowking picked up his trusty fishing rod and began his trip back to Jubilife City.

Before the giant Gyarados could dive back into the water, Chiramii raised his paw and gave the beast a shy, thankful wave. Gyarados returned the gesture by letting out a long growl - "Your welcome." - and then ducked into the depths of the crystal-clear lake.

Just as the Slowking had promised, Canalave City was only a short walk away after that. Taking cover behind a street lamp, Chiramii breathed in the hypnotic scent of the sea. The nautical feeling of being basked in the life of a sailor salted the air. Each house within the town, modest yet comforting, was made out of grey bricks and topped fittingly with an ocean blue roof. At the heart of the town, numerous boats and ships were docked at the Canalave pier.

Chiramii smiled at the tranquility of the town. What a beautiful, peaceful place to live! He wasn't giving up on his quest to return to Isshu, but if he never found a way home, perhaps he could reside here for a while.

There were very few humans outside of their homes in Canalave, and all of the ones who were had flocked over to the Canalave Dock. Chiramii took advantage of this golden opportunity and scurried over the large, wooden bridge that had been built over the large body of water that had cut the town in half. The water that flowed through the town… was this the ocean? It probably was. The huge boats that were docked at the pier nearby were all well-crafted and sturdy enough to endure long trips and bad weather. So maybe that huge lake on Route 218 had really been part of the ocean… The ocean. The sea. The water.

Was the ocean something else that he should have remembered?

Chiramii didn't have enough time to recollect his lost thoughts, because while he kept his eyes on the water and tried to think, he never noticed the huge sign that he was heading straight into. The chinchilla ended up crashing into it with his head, making him dizzy and somewhat reminded of his painful experience back at the Trainers' School. Chiramii shook the lightheadedness off and read the sign when his eyes had finally refocused: CANALAVE LIBRARY.

The library itself was much like the houses that dotted the tiny town. Its body was made up of clean, grey bricks, and the roof was a deep blue. The building was three stories tall, and just outside, a fountain spurted out water in a calming sequence.

Chiramii approached the library's glass double doors. He pushed against them, but neither door would budge. He peered past the glass, seeing the librarian's desk and shelves that were bursting with books. No one was inside, other than one girl who was reading contently on a beige couch, and the librarian herself, who had fallen asleep on her desk. Chiramii guessed that today was a lazy day… One of those days where you wake up and unwillingly fall back asleep in a matter of seconds… He let his eyes wander about the building, hoping that there was an open window that he could jump through. Upon gazing at the second floor, he noticed someone push the curtains of one of the windows back. It was a Slowking, and as he let sunlight into the second floor, he set a vase of daisies next to the window, primping them in a fussy way so that they stood proud and straight. This was certainly the previous Slowking's brother.

The girl who had been reading within the library stood up, placing her books inside a plastic bag. "I'll be leaving now. Goodness, I was so absorbed in my book that I never noticed that it had stopped raining outside!" She started towards the exit. "Thank you for letting me stay during the rain!"

The librarian stirred awake. "Huh…? Oh… yeah." Her head plopped back down onto her desk. "Come back… soon… if you wannnnt…"

Chiramii ducked away from the glass door as the girl stepped out. She took in a long breath of fresh air. "Ah! The air always smells so nice with the tang of the ocean and the freshness of the rain!"

Chiramii's eyes widened. Someone had said that to him before. But… who had it been? Perhaps Yin…?

Blinking back into reality, Chiramii, seeing yet another golden opportunity come before him, darted into the library moments before the great glass doors could close shut.

Once inside, Chiramii was grateful to see that the librarian was still slouched over her desk, mumbling something about eating pasta in her sleep. Without delay, Chiramii began his climb up the staircase to the second floor on all fours.

Taking up most of the second floor were boxes of all sorts of books: thin and thick, resourceful and entertaining, classical and newly released. And in the middle of it all, a hard working Slowking was busily sliding each book into its proper place on the shelves. Occasionally, he'd snatch a duster from the desk he'd set it on and begin dusting the shelves, and sometimes he'd even take up a broom and sweep the floor. Never before had Chiramii seen such a frenzy of multitasking…

Chiramii cleared his throat, deciding to finally speak up. "E-excuse me. Sir…"

The Slowking never heard him. The royal Pokemon was too absorbed in his organizing and cleaning while humming some unknown tune to himself.

Distressed, Chiramii stepped a little closer to Slowking's brother. "Please, mister. I-I need some help…"

Slowking's humming had escalated into a series of la la la's. He kicked a freshly emptied box of books aside and hopped towards the next one.

Chiramii gulped. He'd never shouted at anyone before… or at least he didn't remember having done it. He hoped that he wasn't being too rude…

"SLOWKING! I NEED YOUR HELP!"

The Slowking halted, finally gazing over his shoulder. He gasped at the sight of Chiramii, fascination already glazing his eyes. "Who are you who stands before me? / An unknown Pokemon I've yet to meet!"

Chiramii blinked at him. "Wh-what… did you just say…?"

"I take it you've met my older brother? / I am not him, but Slowking the Younger! / I've dedicated my life to uncovering new things, / but when you've uncovered nothing, it really does sting… / But I've never seen a Pokemon that looks quite like you. / Am I right to guess that your species is new?"

"I… Well, not really. You see, I came from a place where Pokemon like me are quite common. But I suddenly woke up here in the Sinnoh region, and the place where I used to live doesn't exist anymore. I'm not a new species of Pokemon. I just… don't belong here."

The younger Slowking tapped his temple the same way his older brother had back in Jubilife City. "I see, I see. I see what you say. / Would it be too much of me to ask for your name?"

"Huh? Oh. I'm Chiramii, commonly known as the chinchilla Pokemon where I used to live."

"So you came from a land where unknown Pokemon dwell…?" His face lit up with interest. "What was this land like! I urge you to tell!"

Chiramii searched his mind, faintly recalling the large towns and beautiful nature of the Isshu region. "It was…"

"Slowking…? Who are you talking to? I hear voices…" From the staircase, the librarian emerged. She sported a thick pair of glasses, and her hair was up in a tight bun. Many strands of hair had escaped from the bun, cascading down her cheeks messily.

Chiramii yelped and hid behind one of the cardboard boxes that littered the floor.

Slowking smiled down at Chiramii, reaching behind the box and pulling the tiny Pokemon out. "If the humans don't know about you, then I won't tell, / and my good friend, Claire, will keep it a secret as well."

Claire, the librarian, knelt down next to Slowking while studying Chiramii closely. "What a cute Pokemon! Where did you come from, little guy?"

"I came… from the Isshu region."

"Isshu? I've never heard of a place like that…"

Chiramii blinked at her. So this Claire understood and could talk to Pokemon? The only other person Chiramii knew of with this talent was Yin.

Yin… Did she miss Chiramii, wherever she was?

Claire laughed at Chiramii's pondering expression. "If you're confused about my pal Slowking, let me explain. You see, when he was still a Slowpoke, the Shellder that made him evolve bit him the wrong way."

Chiramii looked up at Slowking. Not only did he notice that Slowking's crown was rather lopsided, but the tiny jewel that had been fashioned onto it glowed an odd shade of blue, unlike the ruby red jewel that most Slowking sported.

Slowking was rubbing the back of his head with modesty. "My lopsided crown gives me constant pain. / Not only that, but it's affected my brain…"

Claire said, "You know how Slowpoke are supposed to become really smart after Shellder poisons their brain? Apparently, this only works if they bite a certain part of the brain. The way Slowking here got bitten caused the Shellder to bite into half of the right area and half of the wrong area, see? This 'wrong' area that Shellder also poisoned happened to be the part of the brain that keeps track of most of Slowking's actions. Specifically, the part that analyzes and processes everything that Slowking reads."

Chiramii inclined his head. "What?"

"In other words," Claire said. "here's how it is: Whatever type of book Slowking reads at the beginning of the day will determine how he thinks throughout the rest of the day." She smiled, giving her companion a friendly pat on the back. "Today for example, Slowking happened to read a rhyming book, so…"

"So until I fall asleep in bed, / only rhyming words will fill my head. / It tends to influence and affect my speech, / which is why I'm rhyming, as you can see."

A grin fixed itself on Chiramii's face. "I'm sorry… this is so rude, but…" He burst out in laughter for the first time in what might have been forever. "That is so silly!"

Claire and Slowking laughed along with him. "It is, isn't it? It took us some time, but Slowking and I are used to it by now."

"To be influenced by books is an interesting life, / you're constantly changing as the days go by. / If I read a sad novel, I'm mopey and glum, / As I read an uplifter, I'm a bright as the sun!"

"But…" said Chiramii. "what happens if you don't read anything at the beginning of the day?"

"He tends to act rather emotionless. But trust me, it's hard for someone as smart as Slowking to go a day without reading. It's actually a lot easier if he reads a book in the morning, because if he accidentally reads anything else, he can act pretty weird throughout the day. For example, one time, he tried to not read anything in the morning, but on his way over to the Pokemart, he accidentally read a sign that said 'Canalave Dock'."

"So what happened to Slowking?"

"It was pretty weird. I was sitting behind my desk in the library when Slowking suddenly burst through the entrance, naming different Sinnoh locations, telling me where they were located and how to get there. I had to deal with that for a whole day!"

Slowking blushed. "I recall an occasion sometime last May / where I read an instructions manual at the beginning of the day. / I was giving people instructions on the simplest of things, / showing fishers how to fish and readers how to read…"

"That's why Slowking prefers to have a poetry book or an encyclopedia by his bedside. If he reads one of them in the morning, he'll act somewhat normal until he falls asleep again."

Chiramii eyed Slowking with interest, wondering what the wise king would do if he were to read a comic book at the start of the day…

"Oh, but we've gotten a bit carried away." Claire said. "Where did you say you were from? The Isshu region?"

"Yes. It was a huge island that had billions of people and Pokemon on it. It was very far away from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. I know that I'm from Isshu, but it's as if it no longer exists. No one has heard of it, nor of the Pokemon that lived there, including me. Slowking's older brother said that you might know something about an unknown continent…?"

Claire rubbed her chin. "This 'Isshu'… Slowking, do you think that he's talking about Island X?"

"Island X? What is Island X?"

"Island X is not a place, but a theory I've created. / I always believed in a 5th region, but it's a topic that's still debated. / There's a space within the ocean that is more deserted than required. / Plus, I have with me an artifact that I've only recently acquired."

Slowking gently placed Chiramii back on the ground, rushing up the staircase to the third floor to gather up whatever piece of evidence he'd been talking about.

Meanwhile, Claire reached into one of the cardboard book boxes and pulled out an atlas. She turned it to the first page, setting the book before Chiramii. "This is a map of our world." She pointed to one area in the sea. "Do you see how all of the other regions are crowded together in one area of the map and this area right here is just blank?"

Chiramii nodded.

"Don't you think that's kinda weird? Sure, some of the four regions are spaced out from one another, but there are still numerous islands between Kanto and Hoenn, and Johto and Sinnoh. I mean, this part of the ocean doesn't even have any islands. There's, like, no life here at all! It's as if there used to be something there, but someone took a huge eraser and just wiped it all away, you know?"

Chiramii studied the barren part of the map. This did seem true. It was as if something was missing in that lifeless area… Something had once been there. But… Isshu wouldn't just vanish into thin air! Billions of people… hundreds of species of Pokemon… so many cities and forms of nature… all just disappeared? And how had he been spared?

At that time, Slowking returned from the top of the stairs, a carefully wrapped object in his possession. "I've been researching the area where Island X is supposed to be, / and I've recently hired aquatic Pokemon to investigate the seas. / That's where we discovered this object beneath the ocean's depths / in the uninhabited area where no one dares to trek." Slowking unfolded the cloth and picked up the little artifact that he had discovered.

It was a flat piece of hard metal that had been fashioned into a teardrop-like shape. It was colored a pasty white and had a single black dot on it.

"The way this artifact is shaped looks almost like one half of the Taijitu symbol. You know, that Yin-Yang thing that you see all the time in martial arts dojos?" Claire said. "I wonder if the other half to this thing is still at the bottom of the ocean? And what was it made for? The way it's colored suggests that it might have been for decoration… But for a decorative item, it sure has some hearty paint! Look, it was at the ocean's floor for what might have been years and it doesn't look chipped or faded at all!"

Chiramii noted on this, but didn't consider it really important. What was really interesting about this tiny artifact was how it seemed to be silently screaming at Chiramii, begging him to recall his memories. He silently screamed at himself, too, wondering why the idea of Yin-Yang appeared to be the switch to the light bulb in his mind that would retrigger his lost memories.

"Could I look at it?" Chiramii asked Slowking.

The royal Pokemon nodded and carefully handed the artifact over.

Upon holding the teardrop-like metal with his own paws, a single memory returned to him. It wasn't a flashback, a scent, a voice, or even a taste. This memory was only a simple phrase. However, it was by far the most important, significant memory Chiramii had regained.

The Chamber of Balance*…

* * *

*No, the Chamber of Balance doesn't really exist in Pokemon Black and White (Although I'd freak out at my own psychic-ness if it really did). I just made it up, and past this point, I'm going to be making up a LOT of stuff. Please don't get my "ideas" mixed up with the actual truth. Thanks for reading. ^-^


	4. Missing

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't know why, but I feel like I MUST have an author's note at the beginning of each chapter. You lucky readers! XD

So here's where I introduce my own self-made Pokemon. It's definably not from Pokemon Black and White. I just created it to get the plot going along. Can't decide whether or not you should consider it a legendary Pokemon (since it's the only one of its species in existence), but if it WERE a legendary, it would be a really lame one… ^o^

Thanks for viewing the chapter. I promise that everything from here on will be more adventure-like. ^^

**…Missing…**

_"The air always smells so nice with the tang of the ocean and the freshness of the rain!" Yin kicked off her shoes, digging her feet into the sand. She let out a long, contented sigh. "That last thunderstorm was something else, eh, Chiramii? But it's nice to take a break for once. Maybe if we relax our muscles a bit, we can shoot through the next gym in a heartbeat." She let her head fall lazily back against the bench she was sitting in._

_Chiramii gazed out at the ocean, wondering whether the waves were supposed to be blue, green, or grey. "It really is nice to be able to take a breather, I suppose." He curled up on Yin's lap, unleashing a well-deserved yawn._

_"Hey! Trainer!" _

_Yin opened a single eye, seeing a young girl - probably around ten years old - in a bathing suit approach her. "What is it?" Yin asked._

_"You're not that trainer, Yin, are you?"_

_Yin sat up, energy twinkling in her eyes. So people were already beginning to address her in public? Already, she felt like the Pokemon Champion. "Yeah, I'm her. Was there something you wanted to say to me?"_

_The young girl's eyes lit up. "I've heard so much about you! Every gym that I go to seems to have been dominated by you. Even Professor Araragi admires you…" The girl held up a Pokeball. "Would you please battle me? I'm sure I'll lose, but I just want to see your strategy. I want to learn from the best!"_

_Chiramii could already see smugness overtake Yin's grin. "Well, if you insist." Yin said, yawning loudly and jumping to her feet. "I was relaxing a bit after cruising through yet another gym, but I'll give you just a glimpse of my unique strategy…"_

_Chiramii hopped onto Yin's shoulder. "What strategy?" he whispered tauntingly into his trainer's ear. He knew all too well that she was too headstrong to go by any kind of strategy, much less make up her own. _

_She smiled at his comment. "The one that I'm going to make up right now." Yin said, reaching for the first Pokeball in her belt. _

_Before either trainer could send out their first Pokemon, though, the ground began to shake as a great tremor broke loose. The quake was so powerful that the young girl in the bathing suit fell back onto her rear and Yin wobbled a bit before sinking to her knees. Frightened, Chiramii dug his way into Yin's bag of items, taking cover between a Super Potion and an Antidote bottle. The little chinchilla could hear many screams erupting from the nearby town, as well as the crash of a large object smashing into the ground. Chiramii could only clamp his eyes shut, hating every moment of this sudden earthquake. He wanted to fade away from it all, or at least be somewhere else where it was safe…_

_The tremor finally died off, allowing both Yin and the young trainer girl to climb back onto their feet. Chiramii allowed himself to poke his head out of Yin's bag._

_"What's that dark cloud?" the younger trainer asked, pointing past Yin._

_Chiramii followed her finger, noticing an ominous, black sky above a mountain in the distance. Chiramii recognized that mountain. Wasn't that where…?_

_"That's where the Chamber of Balance is, isn't it?" Yin asked no one in particular. "That's where… those mythical Pokemon…"_

_The young girl in the bathing suit gasped. "Hey! Where are you going?"_

_"Can't explain it right now! I've gotta go check something out! Another time, okay!" Yin shouted back, waving at the young girl as she rushed off in the direction of the mountain._

_Chiramii gulped. "W-why are we going there? We shouldn't invade the Chamber of Balance! It's a sacred place, isn't it?"_

_"Those two Pokemon that are said to install harmony within the world… Something must be going on there! If those two Pokemon are disturbed, it'll cause Isshu to be thrown off balance! That's what that quake must have been all about. We have to see what's up! Maybe we can help!"_

_"B-but it's none of our business, right?"_

_"What are you talking about? I'm going to be the greatest Pokemon trainer in the world! This is definably my business!"_

_-x-_

Chiramii opened his eyes very slowly. He found himself staring up at a lifeless white ceiling.

And so it ended. This dream that had taken him back into the Isshu region… Why had it ended so abruptly? He remembered the Chamber of Balance and how determined Yin had been to make a difference. The only part he couldn't remember was what exactly happened in this Chamber… His mind told him that this snippet of information - the exact events that took place within the Chamber of Balance - would be really helpful if he could only remember them. Chiramii reached up and massaged his temples thoroughly, hoping that it would get his mind to think deeper. But, his attempt was fruitless, as always.

The way the room around him seemed to be swaying in all directions made Chiramii sick. He had never enjoyed traveling by boat. As he sat up, he noticed that neither Slowking nor Claire were in the room anymore. They'd probably gotten up long before him.

Chiramii crawled out of the little nest Claire had fashioned for him on her nightstand, and hopped onto her bed to gaze out the window. The way the ocean's waves tossed and turned was violent… sickening… hypnotic… Just like that day… Even the clouds were stormy and angry. Everything was the same… Because according to the Slowking… this blank part of the ocean was the Isshu region.

The waves continued to churn. A bolt of lightning lit up the sky. Welcome home…

-x-

"Hey, Chiramii! You don't look so good. You feeling ill?" Claire asked, getting up from her seat in the small ship's dining room. From a small window in the kitchen, Slowking peered down at Chiramii.

The little chinchilla Pokemon rubbed his stomach, unaware of how sick he really looked. "N-no… I'm fine… Just a bit tired…" He allowed Claire to scoop him up and look into his eyes.

"Huh… we should have brought a professional doctor with us… HEY SLOWKING! You know what's wrong with him? Poor little guy looks like he's about to pass out…"

Slowking had made his way out of the kitchen, a pastel yellow apron tied around his waist. "His face is like a bitter, lonely rain cloud… drifting through the skies remorsefully, until its emotions implode on themselves…"

Chiramii stared at Claire quizzically.

She rolled her eyes. "He decided to read a poetry book today."

"So what did Slowking say?"

"In other words, you look like crap."

Within several more minutes, Chiramii would find himself back in his nest of rag scraps and tissue paper. He insisted that he was fine, despite the fact that his vision was slurring and his head was spinning. He soon found out that it was impossible to defend oneself when you were arguing with Claire. She had a knack for convincing others that she was right, and those who objected were silenced. So Chiramii let her carry him back into their cabin. As he grew more nauseated, he couldn't process the nosy questions that she was shooting at him, nor did he notice as she placed him back in his nest, laying a thin cloth over him like a blanket. All Chiramii knew was that he suddenly felt comfortable and that he was in the midst of a cloud… Just a little white cloud that urged him to go to sleep… He wondered if the Isshu region was floating on a cloud, too. The Isshu region hadn't vanished. No… not into thin air! Perhaps… it only wanted to go to sleep, too… on a cloud… in the heavens…

Chiramii dozed off in a matter of seconds. Claire brought a hand up to her chin. "He looks awful…"

"But the lad hasn't lost hope. Much like a vine that blooms in a vineyard. Though those vines may never reach the sky, they climb all their lives, seeking out the light."

Claire turned to Slowking. "Why did he want to come out here anyway? He must have to worst case of seasickness I've ever witnessed!"

"He said that, though he may never go back home, he wanted to revisit the Isshu region. He wanted to be a mirror and reflect upon his past. His mind is but a book that has been locked firmly. He hoped that this visit would provide the key to his mind… his thoughts… and the heart of the one lost within himself."

"But this is ridiculous! Maybe we should tell the captain to take us back to Canalave… We have to get Chiramii to a Pokemon Center!"

"We should allow the young one do what he needs, otherwise we'd be suffocating his efforts. He knows what he longs to do, and we should allow him to absorb the nostalgia that has long since been taken from him. The same way we look at old photographs… share old stories… and enjoy the music that played in the background during the sunniest moments of our lives… Chiramii only wishes to look back at the days that have faded into the past. The hourglass of your life cannot be flipped over, but we can still study its fallen sands. Each grain holds its own precious day. And if Chiramii wishes to recollect these forgotten grains, then we should allow him to with open hearts… for we are all written within the same book of life."

Claire sighed, went over to Slowking's bed, and swiped up the thick poetry book that was hidden beneath his pillow. "I'm burning this thing." she said as she exited the room and started for the dining room where a roaring fireplace thirsted for wood and book pages.

Slowking removed his head from the poetic clouds that surrounded his brain. "W-wait! You cannot do that! Poetry mustn't be used to quench a thirsty fire!" He took off after her. "Only with poetry are we able to gaze through the eyes of the pondering poet…! Doesn't this fascinate you…! Do you not see the rays of the sun of literature blazing before you…! They scream for your attention…!"

-x-

When Chiramii reawakened, night had fallen a long time ago. It was about midnight in this area of the sea. Dark colors bathed the room he was in. Chiramii sat up and crawled out of his nest. He still felt rather sick, but the churning sensation in his stomach didn't beg for as much attention as it had been earlier. Upon studying his surroundings, he found that he'd once again awoken in a room while he was alone. But somehow, he didn't feel like he really was alone…

(Chiramii… Where are you…?)

Chiramii's ears pricked up. That voice… He'd heard it in his dreams and past memories. That could only be…

(Chiramii… Why did you leave me here…? I'm lost… help… me…)

He'd never heard Yin sound so distressed before. Was she here? Was this area of the sea where she'd ended up after… after… the Chamber of Balance? "Yin!" he called into the darkness of the ship. "Where are you?"

(H…E…L…P… me…)

Was she in danger? Chiramii would never forgive himself if he were to be taken from her again. So she really was here… Perhaps this is what had drawn him to this part of the world. "Don't worry, Yin! I'm coming!" In an instant, Chiramii was off of the nightstand and out of the sleeping quarters. He didn't know where Yin was. He only knew that her voice was coming from outside of the ship. And even though his worst nightmare was to be outside where the stormy sea threw open its gaping jaws and gobbled up humans and Pokemon alike, the fact that his trainer might be in danger compelled him to grow bold and fearless. Was this perhaps the hidden him that Shinx had told him about? This situation certainly felt familiar. Maybe… before coming to Sinnoh… he'd done something similar in Isshu…

-x-

"We have to turn back now! Return us to Canalave City!"

Sailor Eldritch turned away from the steering wheel and faced Claire. The librarian's eyes gleamed with worry and authority. "I know that the storm is roughing up a bit, but didn't you guys say that you planned on being here for a while?"

"That was before Chira - I mean, our, ugh, guest - grew terribly ill! He hasn't woken up in two days! We need to get him to a Poke - I mean - a HUMAN hospital! …Because he's totally human…"

"Let me look at the poor guy. I know a thing or two about seasickness…"

"NO!" Claire and Slowking shouted at the same time with so much volume, Sailor Eldritch reached up and patted his hat to make sure it hadn't flown off.

"You see," Slowking said. "our 'guest' will continue to grow more and more ill the longer that we are out here. AND, at exactly midnight, the rainstorm will reach its climax, resulting in terrible navigation for the ship. If we don't get going, a great wave will strike this boat, and I foresee that this wave will cause a tragic accident to take place!"

Sailor Eldritch raised a brow at Slowking and turned to Claire. "Did your Pokemon just see into the future?"

She laughed nervously. "He read a fortune cookie's fortune this morning… you see… there's something up with his brain… it's a long story…" More nervous laughter. "But that's besides the point! What Slowking says is true, which is why we have to turn back now! We need to get out of this spot before midnight, or else…"

The captain blinked at her. "Did you just say midnight?"

Slowking nodded. "That is when a monstrous wave is supposed to hit and cause a great tragedy!"

Sailor Eldritch dropped the submarine sandwich that he'd been holding in his hand. Slowly, he looked down at his digital wristwatch just in time to see the clock update itself: 11:59. "Uh-oh…" was all he said.

Claire's face grew pale, but as she bit into her lower lip, she threw out her fear for her own safety and immediately could only think of everyone else. She turned to her childhood friend, retrieving a rarely used Pokeball from the depths of her cluttered purse. "Slowking, return to your Pokeball now. It'll be a lot more safe for you to take refuge in there than it is for you to be stumbling around out here."

Slowking sighed, having never enjoyed being stuffed into that odd capsule-like device. But, since he would never go against Claire's wishes, he stepped forward and allowed himself to return to the Pokeball.

"Don't worry about me." Claire assured him. "I'm going to check up on Chiramii right after this."

As Slowking began to glow red due to the radiation of his awaiting Pokeball, his eyes lit up with sudden realization. "It's… I think it is already too late…!"

Claire's eyes widened. "What? It's too late for what?"

But by then, Slowking had already been safely transferred into the Pokeball in Claire's hand. She was tempted to send Slowking back out to hear what he had to say, but quickly decided against it, knowing that she literally only had a few more seconds to find and protect Chiramii.

She met eyes with the captain. "Chiramii, huh?" Sailor Eldritch said. "Is that who your guest is? I must say, that is quite to odd name for a-."

"WHAT ARE YOU JUST SITTING THERE FOR? Move! Get us out of here!"

The captain jumped and immediately sprang into action, pulling a few levers and spinning the steering wheel with much force.

Tucking Slowking's Pokeball safely into her purse, Claire shot out of Sailor Eldritch's room and started for her own cabin, hoping that Chiramii was still sleeping. But she figured that she had nothing to worry about. After all, Chiramii had been feeling terrible lately and had absolutely no reason to leave the bedroom…

-x-

The rain that poured onto the exterior of the ship was falling at a fast rate. It was as if Chiramii had walked underneath a huge waterfall. But even through the thunder, the waves, and the pouring, he could still hear her voice…

(Chiramii… Come quicker… I am… I am…)

The deck of the ship was already beginning to flood with water. The water level came up to Chiramii's chin while he was on all fours. But, even though he couldn't swim, the little chinchilla forced himself to brave the storm and search for Yin until they were reunited. "YIN! I… can't see you… Where are you? Are you on the ship…?"

(Help me… I can't breathe… I am… drowning. It hurts to breathe… Chiramii… It h u r t s…)

Drowning? Yin was drowning? How was he supposed to save her if she was drowning? Maybe he should go back into the ship and see if Slowking could lend a hand. Slowking were supposed to be part water types, right? But… what if it was too late for him to go back for help? What if him just standing there was wasting time?

(Chiramii…)

Even though he couldn't see above the railings on the boat, Chiramii could suddenly see the sea. It was rising up into the sky. This was perhaps the biggest wave he'd ever laid eyes on. The way its jaws were gaping open, awaiting a bite made the ocean look like the terrible monster he always knew it was. Had this horrible beast taken Yin into its belly…?

(It hurts… Chiramii… I can't… b r e a t h e…)

Was the sound of Yin's voice coming from the wave, perhaps? Then he would slay this watery monster willingly.

So when the great, horrible beast lunged out at the ship and tried to take a bite, Chiramii leapt forward and met his prey. Chiramii didn't care that he stood no chance, was overpowered in size, couldn't swim, or was now being consumed by the water. Whether he died or not, Chiramii knew that he was already home. He could feel the sun's rays on his face… the wind caressing his fur… the thousand scents of a big city.

At last, he'd found Isshu.

-x-

Claire finally spotted the door that led into her bedroom. "Chiramii! Hang in there!" she called, not knowing whether or not the thunder and lighting that boomed outside would be enough to wake him.

She threw open the door, and the moment her eyes caught sight of the empty nest that laid abandoned on her nightstand, a massive, surging force shoved her into the room and against the back wall. Dizziness overpowered her only for a moment before her eyes readjusted. Claire glanced over at the window by her bedside. She could only see angry, grey waters.

But she didn't want to see the twisting, turning waves outside. She hadn't wanted to see anything except for the sight of Chiramii sleeping soundly in the darkness of her cabin. But she hadn't. So where had he gone? There was no way he would go out onto the deck. Perhaps he'd snuck into the kitchen or the dining room. But for what reason? Maybe she'd find out if she went to check on her own…

But she didn't. Something was hindering Claire, saying that there would be no point in searching for the cute chinchilla Pokemon that she had been so curious about. She felt as if…

"It is already too late!" Slowking had told her. Too late. Too late. That's what it was.

That's what _she_ was…

x~x~x

Alone. Again. I am alone.

Chiramii brought himself up into a sitting position after once again waking up. He received an odd sense of déjà vu, since several things that had once occurred in his life where now back for more.

For one, he found himself on yet another beach. It definably wasn't the same one he'd visited back in Isshu, but there really is no difference between one beach and another that is hundreds of miles away. Secondly, he'd awoken in a place where he was all alone. It would have been nice to reawaken on the ship, thinking that last night had all been a dream… a wild, wild dream…

And of course, this was the second time Chiramii had awoken in a strange place that he didn't recognize.

Beyond the beach, an untamed jungle watched him closely. The way its exotic plants and scents tickled Chiramii's nose suggested that everything within its deep, dense foliage was probably too dangerous for exploring. The sky above his head was a true blue color… much different than the roaring dark sky he'd witnessed the night before. Even the ocean didn't seem as upset. The gentle waves caressed the warm beach soothingly. Other than the jungle, every aspect of the deserted island Chiramii now found himself on was welcoming, tranquil, and calm.

But it wasn't Isshu. And what had happened to Yin, as well as the boat, Claire, and Slowking…?

Just when he'd finally begun to uncover his past, solve some unexplainable mysteries, and could just about consider his life SOMEWHAT back in order, Chiramii was once again lost, full of questions, and didn't know how he'd gotten here… much less how to get back to where he'd once been.

Great. Just great.

(Foop~)

Chiramii looked over his shoulder. No one was there, other than the deep, dark jungle. Where had that noise come from? Or was he just delirious?

(Foop~)

Now Chiramii quickly glanced back at the sea. He was pretty sure the noise had come from that direction. But of course, no one was there, either.

Something tapped him on the shoulder. (Foop!)

Standing - or rather, floating - right next to him was an odd creature he'd never seen before. The little thing was about the size of Chiramii… maybe just an inch smaller. It had big, glittering blue eyes. They stared at him from behind the oddly shaped purple mask the creature was wearing. It covered the upper half of its face and spread out in all directions so that it looked like it was also wearing a jester's hat. The creature's skin was a golden yellow, and its body was extremely thin. Instead of legs, the creature floated on a ghostly tail, giving it a more spirit-like appearance. And between its two, skinny, fingerless hands, the unknown creature was holding out a big, red fruit. (Foop!) it said without opening its mouth… which for some odd reason was sewn into the most depressing of frowns. (AN: Just seriously TRY to picture this little guy in your head. I have a reference picture, but I'm NOT uploading it to any site because I stink at drawing… xD)

Chiramii looked down at the fruit. It was shiny and appealing. How long had it been since he'd last eaten? Since taking off on the ship…? "For me…?" Chiramii asked.

The creature nodded eagerly. (Foop!)

Chiramii took the offered fruit. "No, I think you meant to say 'food', not 'foop'."

(Foop!)

"No, no. FOOD." He emphasized on the D sound.

(Foop!)

Chiramii gave up and took a bite out of the exotic fruit. It tasted wonderful, with its strange, colorful juices drenching his mouth with flavor. He gasped at the amazing taste and greedily took another, bigger bite. "Th-thank you… whoever you are…" He took yet another bite. "Could I have your name?"

(Foop!)

"Your name is 'Foop'?"

(Foop…)

"Well then what is it…?"

(Foop!)

"Is that all that you can say?"

(Foop~)

"Ugh… well… I guess I'll just call you Foop for now. My name is Chiramii, and I come from Isshu."

The thing blinked at him. (Foop…?)

Chiramii sighed. "I guess that means that you haven't heard of it either…?"

(Foop~)

"Yeah… I didn't think so." Chiramii kept an eye on the creature's never fading frown. Its eyes twinkled with curiosity, but its frown just didn't match. Why was this unknown Pokemon so sad?

Seeing that Chiramii had nothing more to say, the little "Foop" creature turned around and levitated eerily back towards the jungle.

"Oh, wait! Don't go!" Chiramii called after it, dropping the inedible core of the odd red fruit he'd just finished onto the ground.

The ghostly Pokemon glanced back at him. (Foop!) And once again, it set off into the forest.

What did that even mean? Did the creature say "Follow" or "I'll be back"? Not wanting to be left alone, Chiramii eagerly went after it.

Trying to move as fast as possible, he entered the jungle and was immediately alarmed by… the silence. Whenever Chiramii thought about strange, unexplored jungles and forests, he imagined that upon entering the unknown territory, animal noises and cries would fill the atmosphere. He pictured numerous eyes would be watching him from all directions, only to disappear suspiciously when he sensed their presence. He expected gruesome plants that had spiky teeth and thick, green thorns. But this wasn't what he'd received. No, the jungle certainly had its share of odd vegetation, but no plants had their own mouths. He didn't feel as if he were being watched. And the silence…! Oh, the silence. He could only hear his own breathing in this strange jungle. Not even his footsteps begged to be noticed. The forest floor was so thickly carpeted by soft grass that not even a glass thrown upon the ground would have shattered. Why was the jungle so impossibly quiet? Wasn't there any life in here? Or perhaps… this truly was a deserted island.

The "Foop" creature had picked up a reasonable amount of speed for some reason. It darted between and past the countless trees of the forest, as if it had memorized the precise way that it should zigzag through the natural maze.

"Please wait up!" Chiramii called out to it. "I can't keep up with you! I may get lost like this… OW!" Chiramii crashed into Foop, who was hovering just outside of the mysterious forest.

(Foop~) it said to Chiramii.

"Um… yeah. I, ugh… missed you, too…?" Chiramii's attention had been drawn towards the dark cave that loomed before them. Stalactites could be faintly seen decorating its ceiling. Besides this, no other feature of the cave was visible. The darkness that dominated its insides was too stubborn to let any light through, suggesting that navigating through the cave would be impossible without a torch or flashlight of some sort.

While studying it, Chiramii nearly jumped back a whole nine yards when an explosive cough erupted from the depths of the cave. "Kitri, what business do you have here? Do you EVER stop bothering me!"

(Foop!) the floating Pokemon shouted back proudly to the booming voice within the cave.

"Eh? You brought an outsider to the island? Well bring 'im over! Let me have a look see…"

The "Foop" Pokemon, who'd apparently been referred to as "Kitri", grabbed Chiramii's paw and dragged the shaking chinchilla over to the cave's entrance. (Foop~) it said to Chiramii.

Chiramii gulped and was just about to set foot into the cave when the booming voice shouted, "AYE! Stay where you are! Sheesh, I'm not THAT blind…"

So Chiramii was forced to stand there in confusion while the unknown speaker was supposedly studying him. After several minutes had passed, the voice cleared its throat and Kitri grabbed onto Chiramii's paw once again and dragged him away from the mouth of the cave.

"Well, kiddo, you look about as lost as a blind Luxray in the darkness! What brings you to this island? What do you seek?"

Chiramii twiddled his thumbs. "Um… where exactly am I? What island is this? Is it anywhere near Sinnoh, perhaps?"

The cave person remained silent. Then, in a rather annoyed tone, said, "Kitri."

The "Foop" Pokemon inclined its head. (Foop…?)

"What did I tell you about bringing outsiders here against their will?"

(Foop…)

"Kitri, time out for you. Go back into the forest for a bit and think about what you've done."

Kitri's frown grew just a little bit bigger for a moment, and the levitating Pokemon sulked back into the jungle with its head down in shame.

"Now then…" the voice said, speaking to Chiramii again. "let me tell you a little bit about that creature that so rudely dragged you into our world. He is Kitri, a rather devilish Pokemon that no one from your world knows about. This world that you are in is a sacred land that only those who are truly in need of something can ever enter. Some might call it the Dream World or the Spirit World. Either way, it is very different from the Land of the Living that you come from. Pokemon and humans alike can enter and leave this realm in their dreams. This is where you come when your heart seeks assistance, but doesn't know where to look."

"So what you're saying," said Chiramii. "is that this is the place where you go when you have a dream that gives you answers…?"

"Exactly. It is a subconscious world that cannot be reached physically… or at least not usually." Chiramii imagined that the voice within the cave was shaking its head in annoyance at this point.

"Did I come here when I had a dream about one of my lost memories?" the chinchilla asked.

"Well, this little island that you are on isn't specifically home to that kind of assistance. Out in the great sea of this world, hundreds of other islands exist, and each one is home to its own spirit that helps its visitors find what they are looking for. In other words, you probably subconsciously visited the Island of Memories in your dream and were reunited with a lost thought. I can't help you regain any memories, unfortunately."

"I don't remember dreaming about an island…"

"It's usually because the spirits of these dream islands willingly give you what you seek before you even know that you're in our world. Only during rare, extreme cases does one actually get to set foot on the island. That's why I wanted to know what you were seeking. I didn't know that you were here physically and not subconsciously. The fact that you didn't know where you were revealed this right away. Most of you living things can instantly tell that you're dreaming when you visit this island through sleep."

The spirit's voice darkened. "Now then… that little demon, Kitri, likes to go against the rules sometimes. For some reason, he specifically likes to hang around MY island. What nerve… Anyway, he likes to fool people and Pokemon from the Land of the Living by making it seem as though the things that they are seeking are right in front of them. Were you looking with all of your heart for something in particular and thought for a moment that you'd finally found it before you ended up here?"

"I… I did believe for a moment that I could hear my trainer calling me. I got separated from her, and I've been trying to find her and get home ever since."

The spirit groaned. "That darn Kitri… always messing around with everyone's minds… Unfortunately, that wasn't your dear trainer calling you. It was only Kitri trying to lure you into the Dream World… and he succeeded… the little runt…"

"I-is it bad that I'm here? Will I be able to go back into my own world?"

"If you were dreaming, you'd be able to return to the Land of the Living in an instant by simply learning something from me. But since you are here physically, only Kitri can take you back. Even though he looks cute and cuddly, Kitri is merciless and has every right to keep you here for as long as he wants. Trust me, I've seen it happen to one poor Pokemon already… But, if you are somehow able to gain Kitri's trust, he will grow loyal and do anything that you want him to do. You can even ask him to return you to your former world."

"How do I gain his trust?"

"I don't know anything about that pesky little trickster, but I'll tell you this: Did you notice how Kitri is always frowning? It is because he himself is a depressing little thing. But the more he grows to like you, the less he will frown and the more he will smile. When Kitri finally develops a big, sunny smile that seems to never go away, you will have gained his trust. Only then will you be able to get back home. That is all that you need to do."

Chiramii thought about the sad little Pokemon. Perhaps Kitri only brought him here because he'd wanted a friend…? "I think that I can do that." Chiramii said to the spirit.

"Well then," the voice within the cave said. "be on your way. I suggest that you begin building up your friendship with that little pest as soon as possible." There was a yawn. "If you need me, I'll be in here…"

"Wait!" Chiramii said. "If you're going to fall asleep, could you at least tell me what island I'm on?"

"This is the Island of the Lost. Whether you've lost something trivial, such as a remote or an extra sock, you'll likely remember where it is here. Even I'm lost! No one has ever seen me in person because I am stuck inside of this darn cave! But it is better like this. If anyone were to see me and FIND me in this dark cave, this wouldn't be the Island of the Lost anymore! Which is why, kid, I'd prefer it if you didn't try to journey into my 'home'."

"Um… well… I've lost some of my memories…"

"Like I said, kid: You've got the wrong island. Try the Island of Memories if you want to find out who you really are. Of course, once you've entered the Dream World through one island, you can't sail over to or visit any of the other islands. You've gotta dream your way over to them yourself."

"But you can help me find solid things, right?"

"Depends on what it is. What are you seeking?"

"Well… I just want to know where my trainer is… And what happened to the entire Isshu region? They both couldn't have just disappeared into thin air."

There was more silence from within the cave. Finally, the spirit spoke. "I might know a thing or two…"


	5. Gaining

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Sorry I took longer than usual to upload this chapter. After working at a pace of one chapter per every 2-4 days, I decided to take a break for once and slack off.

And this chapter and the last one were originally supposed to be one big chapter, but then I realized that the chapter would have been freakishly huge. Therefore, I split the whole section into two. Also, you'll notice in this chapter that I stink at making up riddles. Hurray for pointless fun facts!

Oh yes, and I realize that this is one freakishly long chapter EVEN after I split it in half. I'm really sorry. I TRIED to make it as short as possible. In fact, you'll notice that this specific chapter seems to be a bit more rushed than the previous ones. Just please be patient while reading. The story's almost over… Hopefully, the next chapter will be REALLLLY short (But still VERY significant).

…**Gaining…**

Chiramii's heart nearly skipped a beat at the mysterious spirit's words. Did the spirit really know what had happened to Isshu? Was Chiramii's quest finally over with? Or was it just beginning…?

"Please, kind spirit," Chiramii said, almost falling to his knees. "I would be forever in your debt if you could tell me. Even if I can't go back home, I at least want to know what happened… to everyone…"

The spirit held back for a moment. "What you are seeking is classified information. It is a secret that should never be heard by mortal ears. Then again… I am the Spirit of the Lost, and it is my duty to ensure that all who visit this island leave with the knowledge that they seek…"

Chiramii could only stare longingly into the depths of the deep cave that the spirit had called "home".

The voice within the cave cleared its throat. "I will only give you hint. An indirect one. That is as far as I am willing to go."

"Indirect? Like a riddle, you mean…?"

"I was actually going to use Pig Latin, but now that I think about it, a riddle does sound more challenging." The spirit let out a thoughtful sigh, and Chiramii held his breath. If anything, he was hopeless when it came to riddles. Even when the facts were floating right in front of him, he couldn't identify what information was valuable and what information only sought to confuse him. In fact, every detail of a riddle confused him.

After a few moments of composing, the spirit finally bestowed the chosen hint upon him: "As the hands clasped together, someone was there. As diamonds dotted the veil, someone was there. A brother turned away, and only one saw it all."

Chiramii waited, expecting more information to be given. Sadly, the spirit remained silent. "Is that all?" Chiramii asked. "No more hints? Or could I have a different riddle?"

"Sorry, kid. That's as far as I'll go. I'll also tell you this: The riddle isn't talking about anything that you'll find while you're here in the Dream World. In other words, even if you do solve the riddle, it'll be a completely useless hint to you if you have no access to the mortal world." Another noisy yawn erupted from within the cave. "Now… leave me alone. And please go to all lengths to make sure that demonic Kitri doesn't get anywhere near me, either." The cave fell silent after that.

Unsure what to do with himself after that, Chiramii could only dismiss himself and poke his head back into the unnerving jungle area. The moment he did this, the frowning face of a bright-eyed Pokemon popped up to meet him. (Foop!) Kitri cried happily.

Chiramii grinned at the little guy, wondering how the cave spirit could hate such an innocent-looking thing. The only reason Kitri pulled people and Pokemon into the Dream World was because of the fact that it was lonely. The poor thing resided on its own in this desolate, parallel realm, accompanied only by spirits that hated its guts. Its life must be so depressing and bland. Surely it only sought friendship! For what other reason would this cute little guy bring Chiramii here…?

Kitri had another one of those juicy, red fruits between his stubby hands. He pushed it towards Chiramii's stomach. (Foop!) it said.

Chiramii laughed, accepting the fruit from the frowning Pokemon. "Thank you, Kitri." he said to it. As Chiramii bit into the fruit, the floating Kitri watched carefully. It was almost unnerving, the way the frowning Pokemon seemed to be digesting every single moment of Chiramii's snacking. Perhaps it only wanted a bite…?

Chiramii offered the remaining half of the fruit to Kitri. "Here, are you hungry?" the chinchilla asked.

Kitri stared down at the red treasure, as if it didn't know what it was. Then, the levitating Pokemon happily took the fruit and literally shoved it into its ghostly stomach. Chiramii blinked at Kitri, watching as it rubbed its belly with content, as if it had just finished consuming a whole turkey, trimmings and all. (Foop~) the Pokemon sighed happily.

He didn't know whether it was only his imagination, but Chiramii could have sworn that Kitri's frown looked… a little less depressing now. Kitri's mouth had curved upwards just a tiny bit more so that it was closer to being a straight line. So was this how Chiramii was supposed to gain the mischievous Pokemon's trust? All he had done was fed it. Maybe it was the little acts that would make Kitri grow more friendly…

(Foop!) Kitri shouted suddenly.

Chiramii looked up at it, but the ghostly Pokemon was already gone, racing deeper and deeper into the woods. The way it dove and swerved through the air suggested that it wanted to play a game. Smiling at the innocence of the adorable Pokemon, Chiramii raced after it. "Watch out, Kitri! I'm gonna beat you!"

(Foop!)

-x-

(Foop…?)

"Not now, Kitri. I really, really don't want to eat anymore…"

(Foop!)

"No thank you. I'm not hungry."

It was nighttime, and Chiramii found himself miserably curled up on the beach. He shivered with illness, having emptied his stomach for the umpteenth time that day. He was terribly dizzy, and his mouth had been tainted with the bursting, juicy flavor of those red fruits he'd been eating all day. Those delicious… round… shiny… _poisonous_ fruits….

Chiramii was laying parallel to the ocean, his back to both the jungle and Kitri. He could feel the frowning Pokemon pushing yet another red fruit against his back. (Foop.) Kitri said. This "foop" wasn't a pleasant cry or a melodic sigh. In fact, this "foop" sounded more like a statement. A demanding one. He _wanted _Chiramii to eat more of the red fruit. He _wanted _Chiramii to grow more ill. Or perhaps Kitri knew that Chiramii was starving and was intentionally taunting the mortal Pokemon with the delicious fruit that would only make him feel worse than he already was.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chiramii could see the glint of the shiny fruit as Kitri brought it closer to his face. The way the skin of the fruit suggested that it was ripe and ready to consume made Chiramii's stomach churn. He didn't want to look at it anymore. The ill Pokemon squinted his eyes shut and let out a sickly groan. He wanted the image and the taste of the red fruit to just go away. But the more he tried to not think of it, the more the very thought of eating more and more fruit resonated throughout his mind.

Overall, Chiramii was having a horrible time.

As the poor chinchilla tried to go to sleep, he could hear Kitri making a strange noise… Even stranger than the usual "foop" the curious Pokemon went by. In fact, it almost sounded… like laughter…

(Foofoofoofoofoo~ Foofoofoofoofoo~!)

Was the undiscovered Pokemon laughing at him? But Kitri was so innocent! Surely this wasn't the curious little Pokemon's evil laughter… right…?

The darkness of Kitri's laughing frightened Chiramii. He shut his eyes tighter, hoping that he could will himself into a deep sleep. He wanted to dream himself away from this world, with its poisonous fruit, silent jungles, and deceiving Pokemon. For a moment, it worked, but even as he slept, it still didn't feel like Chiramii was dreaming. He stood alone, enveloped by a never-ending curtain of darkness. He called out, but only the sound of his own echo responded. Was it even impossible to dream in the Spirit World? The lost Chinchilla could only stand there, waiting for the sun to come back… Waiting for himself to wake up from this nightmare.

It felt as if only a couple of minutes had passed, but when Chiramii awakened, it was sunny outside, and a new day had begun. The first thing he noticed was the bright red fruit that was staring straight back at him. It had been purposely set right in front of his face so that the moment Chiramii woke up, he'd be reminded of the twisting, churning sensation that had invaded his stomach the previous night.

And it did.

Though he didn't feel as bad as he had been ten hours ago, Chiramii refused to look at the fruit. He rolled over to face the jungle, but found a large pile of the red fruits waiting for him on that side, too. Chiramii suspiciously rose to a sitting position.

All over the beach, for as far as he could see, heaps and piles of red fruits dotted the entire island. They had all been stacked into carefully devised pyramids. Every piece of fruit in sight was ripe and glimmering, begging to be eaten. He was in the middle of an army of poison.

At last, Chiramii understood why the Spirit of the Lost had referred to Kitri as a "demon".

-x-

Upon venturing into the forest, Chiramii didn't have to look very hard for Kitri. The devilish Pokemon was cradled lazily in the arms of a great tree. Even though Chiramii had finally witnessed the more demonic side of the strange Pokemon, he couldn't help but notice how adorable Kitri looked as it played with its ghostly tail in a childish fashion. He also wondered why Kitri hadn't reacted so delicately to the red fruits, recalling the way it had happily shoved a whole fruit into its stomach the day before…

Kitri gazed back down at Chiramii, barely noticing him. (Foop!) it shouted with glee, making its sour side appear nonexistent.

Though there were a million things Chiramii wanted to say to Kitri, he forced a forgiving smile onto his face, not wanting to lose the Pokemon's trust. "Um… good morning, Kitri. Was there anything you wanted to do today?" _…Anything that won't kill me, perhaps…?_ he added in his mind.

Kitri inclined its head and patted the seat on the branch right next to it.

"You want me to climb up there…?"

(Foop!)

Chiramii wasn't exactly overflowing with confidence in himself as he eyed the ancient tree. His paws lacked any claws, suction cups, or sticky barbs that would make tree-climbing any less difficult than it already was. "Why don't you come down here?" Chiramii practically begged Kitri.

The relaxing Pokemon continued to watch him with a rather bored set of half-closed eyes. It only wiggled its nose at him, as if saying, _You're kidding, right? _

So Chiramii was forced to circle the base of the tree in hopes of finding some sort of protrusion that he could use as an extra boost. He was fortunate enough to discover a thick vine that crawled up the tree's trunk like a slithering Ekans. In disbelief at his own luck, Chiramii eagerly gripped onto the vine and began to wiggle his way up the tree.

He was almost proud of his feat… until he reached the branch where Kitri was sitting and found that the other end of the vine he'd been climbing was between the devilish Pokemon's paws. Kitri's eyes were sparkling with amusement, upon seeing the nervousness that blossomed on Chiramii's face.

The chinchilla's mouth was forced into yet another fake grin. "H-hi, Kitri… I-I've climbed this far. Just hold the vine like that for a teeny bit longer so that I can-."

(Foop!) Kitri gleefully let the vine slip from his grasp.

"KITRI!" Chiramii leaped towards the branch and was able to get a narrow grip on it with both of his paws. He hung from the branch for only a moment more before he hurryingly scrambled into a sitting position next to Kitri. His heart was utterly pounding in his chest, and he breathed in quick, surprised gasps. He'd been expecting Kitri to pull off a trick like that, and yet it had still shaken him up.

Kitri wasn't laughing at Chiramii, but he was still quite pleased at the way he'd managed to scare the fur off of the pathetic outsider. And then, seeing his chance, the mischievous Pokemon resorted to Plan B. Kitri held both of his paws out to Chiramii. A glossy blue fruit magically appeared between his stubby hands. With innocence glinting in his eye, Kitri offered the fruit over to Chiramii.

Chiramii, having learned his lesson with the red fruit, instantly grew cautious of this new blue version that was now being presented to him. "I'm not really hungry, Kitri…" Chiramii said. However, at that same exact moment, the chinchilla's stomach turned against him by grumbling loudly and painfully at a volume that was more than audible to Kitri.

Kitri inclined his head. So the silly chinchilla Pokemon had just lied to him, huh? Well. That wasn't very nice! How could he, the ever-so-giving Kitri, trust a lying outsider?

Chiramii noticed the pained expression that shown in the devilish Pokemon's eyes. He also noted on the way Kitri's mouth quivered as it began to sink into a much deeper frown…

"On second thought, I'll eat the blue fruit. Thank you, Kitri." Wait… What had he just gotten himself into? Why had he said that? There was no way in the name of Arceus that he would ever eat any of the exotic fruit from the Island of the Lost again!

Kitri's mouth sprang back into the slightly-less-deeper frown he'd been sporting before as he shoved the blue fruit into Chiramii's trembling paws.

Chiramii would soon discover that this rare delicacy of the Island of the Lost was just an ordinary fruit that certainly wasn't aiming to poison him like the red fruit had. However, he would also discover that this delicious blue fruit was also very heavy. Impossibly heavy. So heavy, that the combined weight of the chinchilla Pokemon and the blue fruit would cause the weak branch that he was sitting on to snap in half and send him plummeting to the ground.

Which it did.

Without having enough time to react, Chiramii found himself falling and then crashing into the hard earth. The weighty blue fruit tauntingly landed right on top of him, knocking him breathless. Chiramii was somehow reminded of the position he had been in when Slowking's elder brother had discovered him in the Trainers' School…

(Foofoofoofoofoo! FOOFOOFOOFOOFOO~!) Kitri was double over in laughter as he hovered near the tree where the fallen branch had once been. Oh yes… Truly you haven't lived until you've seen someone fall out of a tree due to a piece of fruit…

Chiramii pushed the fruit off of him. He rose shakily to his hind legs, his eyes making the world look as if it were spinning. He was embarrassed, hurt, and infuriated. But… he knew that he couldn't let his anger shine through.

It was Kitri's turn to be surprised when he heard the sound of the stupid chinchilla's laughter join his. What was wrong with that silly rodent? He shouldn't be the one laughing!

Reverse psychology. This was the one trick Chiramii had hiding up his own sleeve. Even though the world around him was still doing flip-flops, Chiramii soon found himself bursting into his own round of laughter. "That was a good one!" he shouted over to Kitri. "I wish I could have seen the look on my face!"

For the first time in a long time, Kitri experienced confusion. True, Chiramii's surprised, horrified facial expression as he fell had been nothing short of golden, but why was the chinchilla laughing at himself? If Kitri was laughing at him, and the chinchilla was joining in, wouldn't that mean that they were "laughing together"? Together… How long had it been since he'd truly done something "together" with someone? He'd played around _with _others, and had done stuff _to _people, but he hadn't mentally referred to the word "together" since… that trainer with the hat had come to visit him…

Still quite baffled, Kitri allowed himself to resume his laughter. This time, he and Chiramii were laughing… "together". Together. Together, together, together. My, what a nice ring that word has!

Still working on his reverse psychology, Chiramii never noticed the tiny grin that was now etched onto Kitri's face.

-x-

That evening had been the complete opposite of the last sickly night Chiramii had spent on the island. Not only did he feel well and healthy, but he was also stuffed full with delicious blue fruits. His stomach didn't attempt to empty itself, nausea wasn't clouding his thoughts… Truly, today had been a good day for him.

Another key difference between this night and the last was the fact that Kitri wasn't hovering around the beach to bother him. While Chiramii was gazing up at the moon, reciting the spirit's hinting riddle to himself in his head, Kitri was curled up in a tree. Within the hardy trunk of this specific tree, Kitri had created his own nest. It consisted of leaves, twigs, flowers, and the occasional scarf or piece of paper he'd stolen from previous outsiders who'd come to the island. Now that he was cradled comfortably within this primitive home of his, Kitri could once again study his treasures.

One of his favorite trophies to play with was the bright red Pokeball that he'd stolen from some lady trainer a long, long time ago. He had never really liked her, and Kitri still wondered to this very day why he'd bothered to drag her into the Spirit World in the first place. He also pondered over whether or not he should have returned her to her previous world. It didn't matter. Kitri knew that this Pokeball that he'd sniped from her belt contained her favorite Pokemon. He hadn't once released the poor thing from its ball, and he knew that he certainly never would. Whether that lady trainer was still alive or not, she'd probably realized the absence of her favorite Pokemon upon her return to the Land of the Living. She must have suffered a great loss. Just seeing her missing Pokeball in his hands made Kitri spitefully satisfied with himself.

Kitri also had a beautiful Amulet Coin in his possession. A rather annoying Flareon had been wearing it upon his arrival into the Spirit World. One thing was for sure, he certainly hadn't been wearing it on his way out. The same went for the silky Choice Scarf that Kitri had nabbed from a Pikachu. And the wristwatch he'd snatched from a vengeful Pokemon trainer. And the Rage Candy Bars he couldn't resist helping himself to while another trainer had his back turned to him.

But, Kitri's most prized possession wasn't something that he'd stolen from either a Pokemon or a trainer in the past. This object was perhaps the only gift he'd ever received from someone that he had forced into the Spirit World.

Kitri couldn't quite remember what that boy's name had been. He'd come to play with Kitri over two hundred years ago. The only things Kitri could recall about that boy was the way he'd actually _wanted _to get to know Kitri, the interesting hat that he had always worn, and the green bandana that he'd given to Kitri upon his departure to the Land of the Living. The mischievous Pokemon held that bandana between his paws now, still trying to remember how exactly the trainer had tied it around his neck those two centuries ago…

Somehow, meeting Chiramii had reminded Kitri of the good times he'd shared with that boy. Perhaps the way both Chiramii and the trainer were able to laugh at themselves after being tortured in some way by Kitri was what made them so likeable. Other trainers and Pokemon were too prideful to accept Kitri's pranks and tricks as the practical jokes that they were intended to be. Chiramii and the trainer were different cases…

Chiramii was contemplating things that he still didn't understand at the same time Kitri was. So far, all that he had remembered from his past were the Sweep Slash, Hiun City, Yin, Tsutaja, and most importantly: the Chamber of Balance. What were these mythical Pokemon that supposedly resided within its walls? While Chiramii was fighting to recall every last significant detail of his past life, he was a tad more curious about the two legendary beings that even Yin hadn't known much about. He couldn't help but feel as if these supposed coexisting forces behind the Chamber of Balance were to blame for all of this. No… Blame wasn't the right word to use. He felt as if these mythical Pokemon were…

(Foop…)

The firm grip Chiramii had on that small fragment of memory slipped away as he was once again pulled back into reality. Kitri was nudging Chiramii on the shoulder with some sort of cloth between its paws. Upon a closer inspection, it was revealed to be a green bandana of some sort. It was slightly faded with age.

Kitri waved it playfully in front of Chiramii's face. But the way Kitri held the bandana so delicately suggested that it was treasured by the troublesome Pokemon. (Foop!) Kitri whined at his chinchilla guest.

"What is this thing? Why did you bring it to me?" Chiramii asked as he took the offered bandana into his own paws.

(Foop! Foop!) Kitri pointed at his own neck and then the bandana.

"You want me to put it on you…?"

(Foop!) Kitri clapped his hands together, enjoying the fact that Chiramii - like the trainer who'd given him the bandana - were sometimes able to figure out what he was saying.

Folding the bandana in half diagonally, Chiramii stepped behind Kitri and tied the two ends of the cloth into a hardy knot that would probably survive most of Kitri's insane antics for a while. "There." Chiramii said, taking a seat in the sand again, having been bothered a bit by Kitri's random request in the middle of his meditating.

With the green bandana once again hanging loosely around his neck, Kitri could feel the inner demon within himself shrinking away. He'd felt this feeling over a hundred times before when previous visitors to the island had treated him decently. But the strong bond that he now felt had been absent during all of those other occasions. Kitri had only felt this way one other time before…

Chiramii grew alarmed when Kitri began to race and flip through the air while making gleeful squeaking noises. The strange Pokemon appeared to be more hyper than usual. But, upon seeing the never-ceasing smile that was now drawn onto Kitri's face, Chiramii finally understood… Though he was still wondering how he'd managed to gain Kitri's trust so easily and why it had happened so quickly…

When the mischievous Pokemon had finally calmed down, it began to stare expectantly at Chiramii, practically boring a hole into his mind.

The chinchilla grew uncomfortable with the awaiting gaze and awkward silence. "Ugh… Does this mean that you fully trust me now?"

(Foop!) Kitri nodded energetically. Though he appeared to be as happy as a Snorlax in a food warehouse, Kitri was secretly full of sorrow. Just when he'd finally warmed up to somebody, they always left him. Every time Kitri finally saw the good in a person, they only wanted to return to their previous world. No one wanted to befriend the little Pokemon out of the goodness of their heart. They only did it to go home. Kitri wondered if the trainer who'd given him the green bandana had bothered to remember him long past his days in the Spirit World… What if it had all been an act?

Even so, Kitri forced himself to keep on grinning. It was ironic how he was always happy while he was frowning, and sad when he could only smile.

"Does that mean that you'll do anything for me?" Chiramii asked.

Again, Kitri nodded. He knew what Chiramii was going to ask for. It was the first and only thing that anyone had ever wanted out of him…

"Then could you do me one small favor?"

_He's going to say it. _Kitri inclined his head, waiting to hear Chiramii's request. He wondered how the little chinchilla was going to say it. Over the years, Kitri had heard the many possible ways that one could ask to be returned home. "Take me back." was the most common way of wording it. Some of the more creative ways he'd heard included, "I demand that you return me to my proper world. At. Once." and "Well… if it isn't too much to ask, could you please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please take me back to where I came from…?"

"Kitri… the way that you were able to impersonate Yin so that you could fool me into coming here… Does that mean that you know what I am looking for and what I have lost?"

Kitri was quite surprised. Was Chiramii actually about to request something else out of him? Well… Kitri certainly didn't know all about this strange person that Chiramii had lost. Kitri could see far into the outsider Pokemon's heart. It only thirsted for a distant land with towering cities, and to be united with what appeared to be a very pretty trainer girl. That was all that he could see, although there was a number of other events and facts that Chiramii was seeking… But these were very faint to see. If Chiramii couldn't picture any of these things, then neither could Kitri. Still, the mischievous Pokemon found himself nodding at Chiramii's question.

"Does that mean that you can see into my mind? If it's possible… Could you please impersonate Yin again? I know that my memories of her are somewhere in my head… Perhaps if you saw them, you could repeat everything that she says to me. It's a tough request, since I can't recall a lot of my memories… But I just want to hear her voice again. Sometimes, if I remember something that she once said to me, it'll remind me of other things in my past. If it'll help, I'll try to search my mind at the same time. It's sort of like having two people look for something at the same time. But, if it won't work that way…"

Kitri considered it. Perhaps if Chiramii was able to even faintly recall a single memory, it would allow Kitri to dig deeper into the depths of that thought for him. This was something that Kitri had never attempted before, but it was worth a shot. So, he nodded at Chiramii and allowed himself to invade the chinchilla Pokemon's thoughts.

Upon entering his mind subconsciously, Kitri could see that Chiramii had been meditating vigorously about some Chamber of Balance recently. So this was were, apparently, Chiramii had last been with this Yin that he spoke of. Interesting. Kitri pushed his own mind towards this portion of memory and began to poke at it, waiting for Chiramii to remember something so that the tight seal over this specific thought bubble would finally give way for a brief moment, allowing Kitri to invade and soak in whatever Yin had once quoted within this Chamber.

At the same time, Chiramii began to wonder about those mythical beings again. They were Pokemon, right? What significant role in life did these Pokemon once play? He remembered that there was some sort of "concept" that these Pokemon represented, and this specific concept had been widely displayed and celebrated in Isshu. But what could they represent that was so important to the people.

But… Didn't Yin once say that she was… or was it…? Something about her own name?

Kitri could feel one of Chiramii's thoughts opening up ever so slightly. The loose grip that Chiramii had on this memory was so light, that the doorway into the lost memory was just about to slam shut again… Seeing his chance, Kitri pushed himself into the memory. It was a past thought about something Yin had said.

(Yeah… That's my name.) Kitri repeated the words in Yin's voice for Chiramii to hear as he listened to them in the chinchilla's locked memory. (Yes, it is based off of the Yin-Yang symbol… the Taijitu, or whatever you want to call it. … It's a bit embarrassing… … What's even more embarrassing is that my next door neighbor is named Yang. … Yeah! Yin and Yang! … Everyone from my hometown was SO convinced that we would "tie the knot", or something ridiculous like that. Can you imagine what it's like to have the whole town believing that you and your best friend are supposed to be dating? … Yeah! It is!)

As Chiramii listened to Kitri repeating these words with Yin's voice, he recalled that his trainer had said the same exact thing to one of the many trainers she'd battled. This had been said during a post-battle conversation that she'd shared with a talkative lass. Of course, Yin had won tenaciously.

But what Chiramii was really interested in was what her name had been based off of. Yin and Yang. The Taijitu. Simple, harmonious philosophy. Wasn't it believed that these two principles were supposed to exist alongside each other in all things? The sky… the ground… even in the ripples in the water. The people of Isshu believed that Yin and Yang, being positive and negative forces, were supposed to balance each other off. Balance.

The same was true for the two Pokemon within the Chamber of Balance.

At last, Kitri could feel the target memory opening up ever so slightly. This was the memory of the Chamber of Balance. The opening was very narrow, and Kitri had to practically shove his own mind into it. Kitri couldn't see any chamber, once inside the memory. He could only hear voices. Frantic, worried voices.

(This is…!) Kitri could hear Yin saying. He repeated everything that she said with her voice again. (Who are you? … Reshiram and Zekrom? What's wrong with…? … Don't worry. I'll… … There's no controlling them now… … LOOK OUT! … Chiramii, don't! … CHIRAMII…!)

That was the end of the memory. Kitri yanked himself out of Chiramii's mind, exhausted and a bit overwhelmed with the tense atmosphere of the flashback.

Chiramii, meanwhile, had been holding his breath the whole time. He didn't allow himself to exhale now, fearing that the slightest movement would cause him to loose what little fragments of the memory he could recall.

Yes, those were the names of the two legendary monsters. Zekrom and Reshiram. They were the ones that had attacked Yin. That was what that white flash had been… The sole thing that Chiramii could recall upon his arrival to Sinnoh had been a blinding, while light. He remembered jumping into that light. To protect Yin. But why would the two harmonious, worshiped Pokemon of the Isshu region attack Yin so savagely? And why would that result in the disappearance of a whole region? And who had been in the Chamber of Balance with Yin at the time? Chiramii remembered that this other individual had been very wise and knowledgeable of the two mythical beasts. He just couldn't remember who it was…

At last, the chinchilla Pokemon exhaled. "Thank you for helping me remember a small fragment of my past, Kitri. I am in your dept for that. If I ever come back to the Dream World, I'll try to repay the favor."

Kitri nodded. He was still quite interested in this furry outsider, but he knew what was coming next.

This time, however, he didn't mind it at all.

"Kitri, take me back to the Land of the Living." Chiramii repeated the Spirit of the Lost's riddle to himself in his head. "I've got some unfinished business to tend to."

Kitri gave a determined (Foop!) and raced out towards the roaring ocean. Chiramii watched as the curious Pokemon dove deep into the water and emerged from the murky depths with what appeared to be a large bubble between its paws. Chiramii noted on how the shiny bubble was about his size, and how it refused to pop despite how tightly Kitri was gripping onto it.

Kitri brought the large bubble over to Chiramii and playfully threw it at the chinchilla. Even though it was only a bubble, Chiramii still covered his eyes, as if shielding himself from being hit. But, upon opening them, Chiramii realized that he was now inside the bubble. He felt as if he were a lifesized snow globe. The air inside of the bubble was cool and refreshing, and everything from the outside world looked watery and distorted. He could barely see Kitri waving goodbye as the bubble began to float away, into the sky…

Chiramii took this time to remember something else: his fear of heights. He tried to cover his eyes as the ground, the beach, and the entire island began to drift away from him. But, he couldn't help peeking down at the world below him.

It was an amazing sight. The bubble continued to journey further and further into the sky, revealing more of the Dream World to Chiramii. The ocean was vast and boastful, sprawled out all over the Spirit World like a large blanket. Dotted upon the blanket were many colorful islands. The Island of the Lost, despite its great size, appeared to be the littlest island. Surrounding this island were many more tropical, exotic areas. One island had a huge tree dominating its entire surface. Another one was completely desolate, bearing only a shimmering fountain at its center. Perhaps the most interesting island was the tropical paradise that appeared to be floating upside down above the ocean. Chiramii was very curious about the kinds of spirits that would inhabit these foreign lands. Maybe someday, he'd be able to revisit this interesting world through his dreams…

Quite unexpectedly, the bubble that carried Chiramii popped. Chiramii yelped, expecting himself to plunge into the world below. Thankfully, he didn't. But, rather than falling, Chiramii felt as if he'd just dived into a pool of frigid water. Chiramii found himself choking on it, subconsciously realizing that the water wasn't salty, so he wasn't drowning in the ocean.

Since Chiramii didn't know how to swim, he panicked and began to flail and wave his limbs in all directions, praying that he'd miraculously master the art in his time of need. He was somehow able to find the surface and poke his head out of the water, gasping for breath. He noticed that he'd emerged from the depths near a piece of land, so Chiramii hurryingly grabbed onto it and pulled himself out of the water.

This particular island that Chiramii was now on seemed to be a rather tiny piece of land. Upon it, a small cave sat. Surrounding the island was as clear, freshwater lake. This calming scenario appeared to be located at the heart of a forest of some sort. Proud evergreen trees reached up to the starry sky. The moon was fixed into a pleasant crescent shape. The entire scene was picturesque and untroubled. In fact, Chiramii wouldn't mind sleeping here for a few days… or months… or…

There was a sleepy yawn. "Ahh, who's doing all of that splashing…?"

From the cave emerged a familiar-looking Pokemon. She had an unmistakable pink face, and a light blue body. She hovered in the air and had two tails. Upon her forehead, the trademark red jewel winked with the glint of the moon. Chiramii recognized the Pokemon right away as Mesprit, a member of the Lake Trio. So, this area that he now found himself in was none other than Lake Verity…

Chiramii, having never encountered a true legendary Pokemon (Unless, of course, you counted the time he'd met Reshiram and Zekrom. Chiramii didn't consider this a valid encounter with a legendary, since he didn't quite remember the occasion…), wasn't sure how to act around them. Should he treat them with respect, or were legendary Pokemon just like any ordinary Pokemon…?

Deciding to not go with the latter, Chiramii cleared his throat. "Y-you… Are you Mesprit? THE Mesprit?"

Mesprit glanced down at him, barely noticing the tiny chinchilla Pokemon that now sat near her cave. "Yes, that's me. And hello there, little guy! Why, you're so cute and furry, and… ugh… wet. Ew… Do me a favor and dry yourself off if you plan on going inside my cave. I mean, I just cleaned the place up!"

Considering the sass in Mesprit's voice, Chiramii concluded that legendaries were just ordinary Pokemon. Or perhaps this was only true for Mesprit… "I… well… it's an honor to meet you, Mesprit! I… ugh… I've heard so many stories about you!"

"Are they GOOD stories that you've heard?"

"For the most part."

"Then it's an honor to know that you're honored." Mesprit reached out her arm, and a pink feather duster floated out from the depths of her cave. She took the duster and began to frantically sweep up the exterior of her cave, the ground, and she even dusted off Chiramii for a moment. As she cleaned, she said, "So, Tiny Pokemon, what's your name? What brings you here? Do you like dust bunnies? 'Cause I don't." She dusted more furiously at the thought of those horrid balls of grey fluff invading her home. That would be simply unbearable…!

Chiramii twiddled his thumbs. "Um… my name is Chiramii. Since… since you're a legendary Pokemon, that means that you're smart and you know a lot of things about the world, right?"

"Do you WANT me to be a smart Pokemon?"

"It would help me out a lot…"

"Then yes. I'm a genius."

"Oh, that's great to hear! I wanted to ask you if you could help me solve this riddle that someone gave me. I can't figure it out myself, so I was hoping that someone as knowledgeable as you might be of some assistance."

"If it's the riddle about Articuno laying an egg on top of the snowy mountain, then tell your friend that the egg won't fall in any direction… because Articuno can't lay eggs!"

"Um… actually… I've heard that riddle before. You see… I'm trying to find my way back home, and someone who knows something about my home gave me a hint through a riddle. If you could help me solve it, it would mean the world to me."

Mesprit discontinued dusting the top of her cave. She floated back down to Chiramii. "Fine, let's hear this riddle."

"It goes: 'As the hands clasped together, someone was there. As diamonds dotted the veil, someone was there. A brother turned away, and only one saw it all.' Do you know what its taking about?"

Mesprit tapped her chin smartly. In reality, she'd lost interest in the riddle past the part about the diamonds. "You know, as smart and knowledgeable as I am, I THINK I may know the answer to your riddle. Still, I would prefer it if I asked my buddy, Uxie, for his take on your riddle. You know… just to make sure that we get the same answer…"

"You're going to see Uxie? Alright, I'll wait here for you. I promise I won't mess up your cave…"

"Oh, no. You're coming with me!" Mesprit pointed at Chiramii, and instantly, his feet began to float above the ground.

Chiramii gulped, not very enthused by the idea of flying. "W-why do I have to go? Can't you just repeat the riddle to Uxie?"

"I can, but I… ugh… I like the way you say it, is all!" In reality, Mesprit hadn't paid very much attention to the riddle… "So c'mon, Chirakii!"

"Chiramii."

"Bah, whatever! Chirakii sounds cooler!" Mesprit took hold of Chiramii's left paw and sprang up into the night sky.

"AYIIIIE!" Chiramii yelped as he suddenly found himself soaring high above the Sinnoh region. Despite his fear of heights, he didn't close his eyes. Just below him was the familiar sight of Jubilife City. Chiramii thought about Slowking's older brother, as well as the handful of other color characters that had helped him since day one. Jubilife City was now twinkling far below him. It reminded him of Hiun City. In fact, Sinnoh wasn't very different when compared to Isshu, now that he thought of it. Everything was almost the same. Same grass… same trees… not exactly the same Pokemon, but at least everyone was still friendly and humane.

Still gazing down at Jubilife, Chiramii noticed the huge digital clock that illuminated the upper half of a tall skyscraper. 12:01 AM was the time now.

Chiramii turned to Mesprit. "Mesprit, what is today?"

"Huh… today is April the 10th, I think. Oh, but it's already midnight, right? Sooo… that would make today the 11th!"

Today was still the eleventh? But Chiramii had been in the Spirit World for two whole days… And he certainly remembered glancing over for a brief moment at the clock and the calendar that Claire had set on her nightstand before he'd burst out of her cabin to chase after Yin… or rather, Kitri's impersonation of Yin. He remembered that the day had been April 10th, and the time on her clock had been 11:59...

Two whole days in the Spirit World had really been two minutes back in the real world?

"That… can't be right…" Chiramii murmured to himself.

"Hey, by the way… Where the heck did you come from, Chirakii?"

"Huh? Me? Well… ugh… I come from a very distant land that you've probably never heard of. By the way, do you happen to know anything about the Spirit World?"

"The one that's also called the Dream World? Ah, so that's why you were so weirded out about the date! I thought for sure you were some time traveler that got dumped into my lake by Celebii… So how long were you in there? The Dream World, I mean."

"About two days… But according to the date and time, that was only two minutes ago."

"Yeah, well, that's the Dream World for ya. Have you ever had one of those dreams that seems to last for EVER, and when you wake up, it's still nighttime? Or have you ever had a brief dream that was only about five seconds long, but by the time you awaken, it's already morning? That's pretty much how it goes down when you enter the Dream World physically. Some people get whisked away into the Dream World and can survive in there for years… but when they come back out, it's only been an hour. I've heard of one individual who spent a few hours in the Dream World before return to our world over a hundred years later. You're lucky you were only gone for two minutes. Yeesh, I don't know what I would do if I were to find myself in a year where my great, great, great, great grandchildren are long dead… Not that I can lay eggs, though…"

Chiramii thought about this, completely forgetting his uncontrollable fear of heights as he and Mesprit continued to glide over Sinnoh.

-x-

Before coming to Lake Acuity, Chiramii had figured that the water in Mesprit's lake was frigid cold. Now that he found himself shivering before Uxie's cave, he didn't even want to know how the countless Magikarp that dwelled within the icy waters here were able to stay alive. The air here was downright freezing! Chiramii hugged himself into a tight ball, trying to forget about the falling snow all around him and focusing on the puffs of fog that he was breathing out through his mouth.

"HEY UXIE!" Mesprit called into the cave. How she was not shivering without fur, Chiramii would never know. "WAKE UP! I brought you some hot chocolate! …JUST KIDDING!" She burst into gales of laughter, and then nudged Chiramii. "Hey, lighten up, Chirakii! It's summer up here in Snowpoint! This is Lake Acuity at its warmest!"

This only made Chiramii's teeth chatter more.

From the cave emerged the yellow-faced member of the legendary Lake Trio. He too had the trademark red gemstone on his forehead. Unlike Mesprit, his eyes appeared to be closed all the time, as if he were sleep walking… or sleep floating. Still, his face glowed with wisdom, and above all, maturity. "Ah. My Pink-Faced sister. You've come again." He glanced down at Chiramii. "And I see you've brought a guest. What is your name, dear visitor?"

"I-I-I-I-I-it's… Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chir…."

"Oh. Yes. I've forgotten. You are not used to the frigid cold. Please. Do come inside my cave."

Uxie hovered back into the depths of his cave. Chiramii was about the bolt after him, upon feeling the pleasant warm that radiated inside. However Mesprit jumped in front of him. "Hey! Haven't you heard of ladies first?"

Chiramii gave her a deathly glare.

"Ahahahaha! I'm just kidding! Just kidding!" Mesprit floated to the side, allowing Chiramii to bolt into the cave first.

Many torches and one campfire were glowing warmly within the cave. A thin puddle of water dominated the cave's floor, but the water was pleasantly heated, so Chiramii didn't mind getting his feet wet at all. Other than this, there were no other means of decoration within the cave, and the whole place was dimly lit. And yet, this warm, cozy residence still appeared to be rather homey and welcoming… For a cave, that is.

"Yetch… so filthy!" Mesprit fussed upon entering Uxie's domain. "And there's no furniture in here? Sheesh, Uxie! Turn on some lights, why don't ya? It's so dark in here! It's like you live in a cave!"

Uxie ignored her comments. "So. What was your name again?"

Chiramii, having finally warmed up and gotten his body temperature to a safe level, was no longer chattering his teeth. "Oh, that's right! My name is Chiramii!"

"Chiramii… It is a pleasure to meet you, Chiramii. Now. What did my - erm - talkative counterpart bring you here for?"

"HEY! I heard that, Uxie!" Mesprit cried out.

Chiramii also tried to ignore her. "Please, Uxie. I know that you're the Pokemon of Knowledge. I really need you to help me with this riddle that I have…"

So Chiramii tried to briefly explain his situation. He didn't go into much detail about his Isshu issue. He only mentioned that he was lost from home before he carefully explained his adventure and encounters within the Dream World. Mesprit hovered over to him to listen, and would often interrupt his tale with a flurry of questions and jokes. Uxie, on the other hand, only listened quietly and patiently.

At last Chiramii recited his troublesome riddle to the Knowledge Pokemon. "As the hands clasped together, someone was there. As diamonds dotted the veil, someone was there. A brother turned away, and only one saw it all."

"I think it's talking about a wedding." Mesprit piped in. "Hands are clasping together… and that means that someone is praying, right? So who else would be there while people are praying but a priest? And diamonds dotted the veil… so maybe it's a very rich girl that's getting married?"

Chiramii considered it, though he doubted that a rich girl's wedding had anything to do with Isshu's disappearance. "But… what about the part where the brother turns away?"

Mesprit thought about it. "Maybe there's a jealous relative involved!"

"And who's the only one in the whole church who would see this happening?"

"Hmmm… Maybe blindness runs in both families…? So then maybe the priest is the one who sees it!"

"I don't think a priest would know anything about my old home…"

"Actually." Uxie said. "The riddle is very simple. And Mesprit. You are way off."

Mesprit rolled her eyes at him. "That's only ONE of my solutions, dear Uxie. I've got a hundred more answers to this riddle! Since you're so smart, why don't YOU tell us what you think of the riddle?"

Uxie turned to Chiramii. "This riddle is a unique one, indeed. It refers to the creation of the universe."

"That was TOTALLY one of my final answers." Mesprit insisted to the side.

"The universe?" Chiramii figured that this solution sounded promising. "How does it have anything to do with that?"

"The riddle speaks in figurative language. 'Two hands clasped together'… Think of an analog clock. When the hands are clasped as if they are praying, it is either midnight or high noon. Midnight is the beginning of a new day. But, I believe that the hands in this riddle mark the beginning of time itself. And who else would be there when time began?"

"Wouldn't that be Dialga?" Mesprit observed.

"Correct. The first line speaks of Dialga, the creator of time. The next line, 'Diamonds dotted the veil' is quite easy to decipher. This veil is referring to the black canopy of the night sky. The diamonds are the stars. Stars are amongst the many aspects of space. When the stars began to appear in the night sky, and when space itself was created, only one could be held responsible for it."

"It's Palkia!" Mesprit cheered. "You see, Uxie? I'm on a roll!"

"Quite. Assuming that the first two lines refer to Dialga and Palkia, this 'brother that turned away' may be a representation of the third member of the Dragon Trio… Giratina. The ruler of the Distortion World was banished to that chaotic gap between dimensions for its violent behavior. Verily, Giratina turned away from its brothers and the mortal world because of this. And finally, the only one who was there even before the beginning of time, even before the creation of space, and even before the birth of the Distortion World is the one who created these three mystical Pokemon, as well as the three members of the Lake Trio."

Mesprit brought a hand up to her cheek. It had been such a long time since she'd said THAT name. "Arceus."


	6. Knowing

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I took another break while writing this! ...Actually, I was just being lazy. -_-

OH YES. I've been struggling and typing my way to get to this chapter! It's my favorite one, since I finally shed some light on the whole "Isshu issue". Yes, I am aware that the very disappearance of this whole region is by far the most predictable way anything in the Pokemon universe could miraculously disappear..

If you're curious about when I'm going to end this story, well… this is the sixth chapter… so… That would mean that there are only three chapters left (hopefully). Nine in all. There will be a tenth chapter, but it's only an epilogue. So this part onwards is technically the climax of the story. Squee~!

…**Knowing…**

"HEY 'ZELF! Get out here! We need ya!"

Chiramii was beginning to wonder if this was how Mesprit usually called upon others.

The little chinchilla was more than relieved to be away from Uxie's iceberg of a lake. Within the presence of Lake Valor, the air was warm, heated thoroughly by the blazing sun that hung in the sky. This was the type of weather that was perfect for a trip to the beach… namely, Route 222. Chiramii could feel the summer heat waves rubbing up against his face. Normally, this would have bothered him, but after paying a visit to Lake Acuity, he was just glad to be able to feel his toes again.

"Wh… what is it?" From the cave emerged the blue-faced Lake Legendary. He used a very quiet voice… one that was just barely above a whisper. He was holding a shy paw up to his mouth, as if fearing the very words that might come out of his own mouth.

So… THIS was the Pokemon of Willpower…

"'ZELF! Good to see ya, brother!" Mesprit hovered over to him and have him a sharp elbowing on the shoulder. Azelf flinched from her gesture miserably. "Listen, listen! Uxie and I need your help!"

"F… For what?"

Uxie levitated forward. "We need to summon Arceus. For our friend, Chiramii."

"A… Arceus?" He gazed down at Chiramii. "Wh… What business do you have with Arceus? H… He is only the g-god of all Pokemon!"

"Chiramii needs the help of only a god. He is in the most interesting of predicaments." Uxie then turned to Chiramii. "There are only three things that will summon Arceus if he won't summon himself. The Azure Flute is a holy device entrusted to the humans by the very god it will call forth. If Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina were to combine their powers and make a wish towards the heavens, it will also awaken Arceus. And lastly, when Azelf, Mesprit, and I gather at the Spear Pillar and wish for Arceus to come forth, then he will. These are the only ways, and my counterparts and I are more than willing to assist you."

Chiramii gulped. How was he, a simple chinchilla Pokemon, supposed to have an audience a GOD? If it took the combined efforts of three sacred Pokemon to just make him appear, then what would it take to make Arceus tell him about Isshu? In fact, if The God of all Pokemon was the only one who knew anything about Isshu, then Chiramii would gladly stop worrying about it. He didn't even want to know about Isshu anymore! In fact, what IS Isshu? He'd never heard of it! As long as he was alive and without fear, Chiramii certainly didn't NEED to know anything about what had brought him here to Sinnoh. He'd gladly live on with life. There was no need to summon a GOD…!

_Chiramii awoke with a heavy blanket wrapped around him. It had been raining earlier. He shivered violently, his fur still damp with wet rain. Someone was scratching him behind his ear. It felt quite pleasant… Until Chiramii realized that he was in the arms of a human. _

_He tried to wiggle out of her grasp, but she held him close. Her body was pleasantly warm. "Don't be afraid." she told him. _

_Chiramii dared himself to look up at her. She had a welcoming smile and wavy brown hair that cascaded down her shoulders. Above all, she could talk to Pokemon._

"_You don't have to fear me. I love Pokemon!" She brought the little chinchilla to her face, nuzzling her nose against his. _

_For some reason, Chiramii hesitated to scratch or bite her. She seemed like a nice girl…_

"_So… little Chiramii." she said to him. "How would you like to join my Pokemon team?" She flashed him a cocky grin. "My name is Yin. I'm going to be the Pokemon Champion!"_

With the flashback gone, Chiramii was once again reminded of the very reason he'd been pushing himself forward these past few days. He wanted to know about Yin. Whether she was alive, in some other region, or still living within the ghost of the land of Isshu, Chiramii needed to know of her fate. He wanted to be reunited with her. He knew that he couldn't.

But he wanted to.

"Hellooooo? Earth to Chirakii? Come in, Chirakii!" Mesprit was waving her paw in front of Chiramii's face. "You're a spaced out little dude, you know that? You should be an astronaut!"

First he'd been mistakenly called a secret agent. Now he was an astronaut. Chiramii wondered what sort of profession Yin would have pursued after her promise to dominate all of Isshu… if the whole region hadn't just vanished…

Chiramii looked up at Azelf. "Please help me. I need to speak to Arceus as soon as possible."

It was decided. He would do it. Whether he'd have to face any more obstacles, he'd speak to Arceus, and Arceus WOULD tell him about Isshu. He'd make sure of it.

Azelf, seeing the readiness in Chiramii's eyes, grinned. It was the same smile of conceit that Yin would sport before and during battle. His appearance had changed completely. "Then let's do this!" Azelf thrust a finger towards the heavens, as if summoning power. "To the Spear Pillar!"

Chiramii raised a brow at Azelf's personality change. Uxie only smiled at the chinchilla's baffled expression. "Azelf just needs some sort of motivation in order for him to come out of his shell." Uxie then nodded towards the two other members of his trio. "Now then. Let us depart for the Spear Pillar!"

-x-

What little bravery Chiramii had possessed several minutes ago had now completely vanished. High atop Mount Coronet, past its snowy summit, and just beyond a sea of clouds, the Spear Pillar lingered vacantly. Only the voice of the wind could be heard, and even that seemed to lack any life. Destroyed and crumbled pillars were scattered around the desolate ruins. Chiramii wondered if it was possible for a god to become lonely…

"Now then." declared Uxie, completely oblivious to the eerie, empty atmosphere (Then again, Chiramii guessed that most legendary Pokemon must be used to being alone). "We begin."

Mesprit and Azelf nodded, and the threesome gathered into a tight circle. Mesprit hummed a light tune as she sent her blessings forward, an abnormal red orb of light emerging from the jewel upon her forehead. The orb drifted into the center of the triangle they'd formed. Azelf then furrowed his brow, sending his own orb of energy forth. Uxie did the same, his wishes embodied by the red light that he'd created. The three orbs united as one, and the slightly larger ball of light that they'd created shot up into the sky until it was no longer visible. A grand, extremely bright light then beamed down upon them from the heavens. Chiramii had to shield his eyes to spare his vision. But when he reopened them, the light had faded away, and a golden, almost translucent staircase had spread out before the four of them. Chiramii studied the new stairway, noting on how it towered high above their heads, the top of it practically invisible to the naked eye.

Chiramii gaped at Uxie, pointing at the staircase. "We're climbing THAT thing?" he meant to say. However, he was only able to mouth the words.

"It's not as big as it looks." Uxie assured him.

"Easy for you to say. You can levitate!" Chiramii murmured.

"Trust me. It'll seem as if you've just begun climbing when you reach the top." Uxie hovered forward, following his two other counterparts as they raced towards the staircase.

Chiramii groaned as he followed them. He could already feel the foot sores bruising the tips of his toes as he climbed onto the first step. To a human, this obstacle might seem somewhat possible. However, Chiramii was a Pokemon… a rather small one, to be more precise. He had to pull himself onto every new step on the staircase. This was going to be impossible! There was no way… no way at all that he'd…

Chiramii blinked. He hadn't even climbed three stairs when he suddenly found himself standing on a golden platform in the sky. The chinchilla gazed over his shoulder, seeing the humongous stairway that stretched out far below him. The summit of Mount Coronet wasn't even visible anymore. It was blocked off by a thick patch of clouds. Chiramii directed his attention to the sky, gasping when he noticed the countless stars that winked down at him from the night sky. No… that wasn't the night sky that he was looking at. It was still high noon back in Sinnoh. This… this was a view of outer space… Was he really that far up?

From behind him, Chiramii could hear faint voices. "Hey! Chirakii!" It was definably Mesprit. "Wait up! Geez, you're too fast for us!" He couldn't believe that the Lake Trio was still hovering up the stairway.

"For a mortal, you've a strong sense of willpower upon you. No other Pokemon has climbed up those stairs in such little time. The time that it will take for one to reach this Hall of Origin depends solely on his heart."

Chiramii met eyes with the godly being that stood before him. It was none other than Arceus: the Original One. The Creator. The one who would help him. Just as Chiramii had imagined, Arceus towered high above his head, his height emphasizing his power. The way this holy Pokemon spoke was so emotionless, and yet, so powerful and overflowing with a sense of justice.

Yes, this was exactly how Chiramii had figured Arceus would be. His expectations had been both met and surpassed. It was very unnerving.

The Lake Trio had finally arrived in the Hall of Origin. "I always hate hovering up those stairs…" Mesprit sighed. But, upon catching sight of Arceus, she immediately wiped the emotion off of her face and stuck her chin up. "Arceus! I… ugh… How've ya been…?"

"Spirits of the Three Lakes," Arceus spoke. His voice was booming with authority. "for what reason do you bring this mortal before me?"

"You should know." Uxie stated quite bluntly. The small hint of sarcasm in his voice made Mesprit shift her eyes towards him with surprise.

There were traces of emotion in neither Arceus's face nor speech, but the alpha Pokemon seemed to welcome Uxie's sarcasm the same way someone would welcome an old friend's familiar jokes upon a reunion. "You are right as always, Uxie. I do know." Arceus then shot an icy glance down at Chiramii. Chiramii tensed up but never displayed visible fear. "I had a feeling that you'd return to me… Chiramii."

Chiramii gulped. Was he even worthy enough to speak to this god, much less be in his presence? "R-return? What do you mean by that? Have… have I been here before?"

"You have… But you don't remember. You don't remember anything about your former life. Or rather, you shouldn't. But the heart and the mind are curious devices that simply insist on clinging on to their precious memories. I see that you were no exception."

Fearing that he only had a limited amount of time to be in this Hall of Origin with the legendary Arceus, Chiramii didn't want to waste any more time talking about his own memories. "Tell me what happened to my trainer and the Isshu region, Arceus."

Was he insane? He'd just given a commandment to a GOD! But… it felt so empowering…

Arceus didn't even bat an eye at him. "You are fortunate, young Chiramii. You were the only former resident of the Isshu region who was able to avoid the fate that I had bestowed upon it. I erased your memory so that you could live on in peace. I hoped that you would never be curious enough about your past life to regain some of your memories. But, here you stand. This time, however, I will give you a choice."

This time? What did he mean by "this time"?

Arceus continued. "I can dismiss you right now, and you can go on and live peacefully in the Sinnoh region the way I had always hoped that you would, completely naïve and unaware of your past life." Arceus's eyes darkened eerily. "Or, I can tell you everything, and you can live on in guilt and agony."

All three members of the Lake Trio shot curious glances at Chiramii, as if silently placing bets.

Chiramii had already made his decision, long before he'd heard the consequences. "Tell me everything."

Arceus looked towards the heavens, having foreseen Chiramii's response. "Very well then. This is how Isshu met its downfall…"

x~x~x

_What an abnormal feeling this was… Chiramii found himself in a dimly lit room, but his entire being felt as if it only consisted of millions and millions of particles that refused to come together to make him whole. A little cloud of nothing. At the same time, he could feel everything that was in the room, but without actually knowing where he was. He could hear the inner thoughts of people: Evil intentions and a naïve spirit. Was this what it felt like to be a god? To be all-knowing? Omnipresent?_

_Then, it hit him. The strange markings on the wall, the ancient floor, the grand altar before him… This was the Chamber of Balance. The room became less dim. Two figures stood before the altar. Upon the altar, two Pokemon reigned._

"This is…!"

Yin had just trekked through the unforgiving duration test that was the Tunnel of Passage. Apparently, only really, really tough trainers could fight their way through that grueling journey. She almost felt a little proud of herself and her team, although, upon reaching the Chamber of Balance at last, all of that pride had melted away and morphed into deep concern. The chamber was old, ancient, maybe even a little musty. It housed only a few torches upon the wall, and a grand altar where two huge Pokemon sat with authority. One was a blazing white dragon. The one next to it was a red-eyed beast of steel. These were the fabled balancing forces of the Chamber.

Yin was ecstatic. Just looking at these magnificent Pokemon made her a better trainer than Yang!

But, to her right, she noticed another individual. "Who are you?" Yin said to him. Just as her presence was made known in the Chamber of Balance, the darkly-colored Pokemon let out an upset cry that rattled the very floor of the entire altar.

"Don't get too close." spoke the older man that stood before the altar. "These Pokemon… Reshiram and Zekrom… They must be tamed. They are about to destroy this very chamber."

"Reshiram and Zekrom?" Yin exclaimed. She could feel tiny Chiramii tense up a bit in her bag. She didn't blame him. How many times had they'd heard someone affectionately refer to those names throughout their journey? Yin knew that they were supposed to be sacred Pokemon, but she'd never suspected them of being the very yin-yang Pokemon that brought peace and harmony to Isshu from this Chamber of Balance. But why were they acting so violently right now? "What's wrong with…?"

"Someone has upset these Pokemon, and it could cause mass destruction if they aren't calmed down." The grey-haired man then nodded towards his Houndoom, which was baring its whitened teeth at the two legendary Pokemon. "Trust me, the only way that this will work is if they were both weakened."

Yin grinned as always, seeing a new challenge before her, and reached for a Pokeball at her belt. "Don't worry. I'll…"

The white Pokemon known as Reshiram, who'd been watching Yin cautiously, let out a startled roar the moment it sensed that Yin was now a possible threat to it. Reshiram stomped on the ground furiously, hoping to scare off the two humans who were about to attack it in its lair. The earthquakes that kicked up both within the chamber and throughout Isshu at that moment were disastrous. Chiramii poked his head out of Yin's bag, allowing himself to scurry onto her shoulder out of fear for both himself and her.

"There's no controlling them now…" Yin whispered to herself and Chiramii. She had no desire to attempt fighting this legendary Pokemon anymore. She didn't want to admit it, but she was scared. This was far too dangerous for her and the rest of Isshu. She had to get out of here as soon as possible…

"I have to weaken them!" the old man shouted back to her. His voice suddenly seemed sinister. "Houndoom! Attack it now!"

The Houndoom growled and jumped in front of Yin, barking a challenge at the enraged Reshiram.

Yin, on the other hand, was backing away from the Houndoom, hoping that she could sneak out of the Chamber of Balance. She didn't care how weak it would make her look. She wanted to LIVE!

"Houndoom! Use Flamethrower!" the old man commanded his Pokemon.

But before the Houndoom could ready its attack, Reshiram threw open its own mouth, a heated white ball of flame forming between its jaws.

"LOOK OUT!" Yin shouted with alarm.

"Evade the attack, Houndoom!" the old man yelled at his Pokemon.

Houndoom growled at Reshiram and jumped to the side as the white yang Pokemon unleashed its all-consuming fire-type attack. Yin, who had still been cowering away behind the Houndoom, now found herself face-to-face with an incoming comet of fire. She only gasped with surprise, too frozen with fear to get out of the way.

Chiramii instantly sensed that Yin wasn't going to move. This deadly attack was going to kill his trainer! He had to shield her…

Overcome with bravery and his love for Yin, Chiramii leaped off of her shoulder, jumping right into the bright, churning flame that opened its jaws towards him.

"Chiramii, don't!" Yin yelled at him.

But it was already too late. He could feel himself burning, suffering… dying. Ultimately, he was pleased with himself. He'd done something with his life. He'd met an amazing human and died protecting her. He died with no regrets.

"CHIRAMII…!" he could hear her shout to him. It was the last thing he heard.

He was glad it was.

x~x~x

The strange sensation of being made up of millions of particles began to lift itself off of Chiramii's shoulders. The next time he blinked his eyes, he was back in the Hall of Origin. Arceus glared down at him, as if expecting a comment.

"I still have many questions." Chiramii insisted.

"And they will be answered." Arceus said to him.

The godly Pokemon turned his attention to the stars in the sky, the land far below them, and then at Chiramii again. "I knew that from the moment you willingly sacrificed yourself for your trainer, many misfortunes would happen. Though your intentions were noble and brave, your good deed would only bear bad fruit. Your trainer, Yin, saw no reason to attack Reshiram and Zekrom, the yin and yang Pokemon of Isshu. But, when you died before her eyes, Yin would grow enraged, and she'd fight against Reshiram and Zekrom with all of her heart to avenge your death. Eventually, she and the stranger whom she had encountered in the Chamber of Balance overthrew the two mythical Pokemon. But, this unknown man never wanted to calm down the Pokemon in the first place. It was he who'd upset them. His intentions had always been evil. His name was Charon: a former Commander of the scheming Team Galactic. What Charon really intended to do was capture Reshiram and Zekrom to harness their balancing forces and cause mass destruction to the Isshu region. At first, he certainly would have failed. But when your Yin began to help him out, his goals were met. Charon was able to capture the two sacred Pokemon of the Chamber of Balance because of your trainer's naïveté. Yin would see the disastrous mistake she had just made. She would try to stop him, but with two legendary beasts at his command, hers was a foolhardy attempt.

"From there on, the Isshu region would enter an era of bleakness. Charon would gather many underlings who would assist him in his dark deeds. He would eventually build up a team of scheming Pokemon crooks, and with Reshiram and Zekrom at his side, he would overtake all of Isshu, and much later on, the other four regions.

"I foresaw all of this in advance. I couldn't allow this to happen, because if I were to let it happen, there would be no way to undo it. When something significant happens to a mystical creation of mine, it is nearly impossible to undo, even if one were to go back in time. That is why, I had to do the very last thing that I'd ever have to do to a land that I created. I erased all existence of Reshiram and Zekrom so that no one would ever be able to accomplish the dark deed that Charon had planned. However, the Isshu region is extremely dependent upon these two mythical Pokemon. If they cease to exist, so will Isshu. So, I willingly made all of the Isshu region nonexistent. I wiped it off of the face of the Earth, solely to protect the four other regions. Only misfortune was destined to sprout from Isshu. Even if I had decided to only destroy Charon, there would eventually be others who would attempt to do the same as he. It was inevitable. It was for the best.

"However, when I noticed the selfless sacrifice that you had made to protect your trainer, I felt that you were deserving of being spared of this fate. I brought you into this Hall of Origin and revived you. I then erased your memory, and I sent you off to Sinnoh. I hoped that you would never remember anything that had happened to you before. I wished only for you to live peacefully, despite the fact that no other Pokemon or humans would be able to identify what species you were. It was a bit of a reward for your bravery, if that's how you wish to look at it. But somehow… I knew that you'd come back here." Arceus studied Chiramii carefully. What a determined little Pokemon this was…

Chiramii was at a loss of words. Even the Lake Trio was deep in thought.

"So… you just destroyed it? All of it?" Chiramii asked.

"I didn't destroy the Isshu region." Arceus answered. "You could think of it as being… reset. I decided to recreate the Isshu region… but further into the future. I wish to redesign the entire land so that no evil shall attempt to poison its grounds again. It will be a perfect land, born in an era where only just people that I approve of will dwell. Rest assured, the Isshu region shall live on again someday. Perhaps the thought of this will allow you to sleep well at night. Don't worry. Your loved ones are not dead, but they are not alive… yet. Any good humans and Pokemon alike who once lived in Isshu shall be reborn. Just not at the moment. The evil that plagues our world today is far too hazardous to powerful beings such as Reshiram and Zekrom. This mistake must never be made again."

_This mistake… _So that's what Arceus thought of it. A mistake. He, Chiramii, had made a mistake. A huge one.

Arceus had been right. He certainly did feel guilty about the whole thing…

"So… it's kinda like you put the Isshu region in time-out, right?" Mesprit asked. Her two other counterparts glared at her childishness, although Uxie had to admit that this was a good way to put it.

"My only concern is towards the rest of the world." Arceus continued to stare down upon Mount Coronet. "Millions, perhaps billions, of years into the future, Isshu shall rise again. When there is no badness in the world, it will resurrect."

"But that time will never come." Chiramii said. His inner thoughts screamed at him, wondering why he was being so defiant these days. It occurred to him that this bold, fearless person was the true him. This was what Shinx had told him about. This other side of Chiramii was the same one who'd leaped in front of Yin, pushed himself forward, and spoke to Arceus now. The true him. "Arceus, you and I both know that there will always be evil in the world. There will always be humans with bad intentions… Pokemon who only see the darkness. In what impossible age do you intend on reviving Isshu?"

Arceus's eyes softened a bit. However, they were still cold and emotionless. "Your eyes see further than I figured they would. You are a wise Pokemon to have seen past my true intentions."

"You lied to me. You're never going to revive the Isshu region."

"I only wish to protect the rest of this world from harm. That is my only goal. I never wanted to destroy Isshu. It was a land that I myself gave birth to. But I had to get rid of it. I had to delete all traces of it. You are correct to assume that I have no intentions on bringing it back to life."

"Why can't you give Isshu a second chance?"

"How would I benefit from giving it another chance? I said it before, and I'll say it again: Even if Charon was somehow stopped from achieving his dark plans, only more in his likeliness will continue to be born, striving for the same goal. This predicament that you now find yourself in will only occur again. And again. And again. There is no need for a second chance."

"Yes there is." Chiramii said. He looked the god Pokemon straight in the eyes, adrenaline rushing through his veins at a maddening speed. "You can give _me _a second chance. You said that the past can't be undone when something significant happens to a mystical Pokemon, but you destroyed Isshu BEFORE anything could be done to Reshiram and Zekrom, right? I… If you give me just one more chance… one chance to go back in time and undo where I messed everything up… then I can save them both. And no one will threaten Reshiram and Zekrom ever again." But Chiramii didn't know how he'd be able to keep that last promise. He was just one Pokemon. He was one mortal Pokemon that would someday die. Reshiram and Zekrom were two legendary beings that had no breath, no heart, no way of dying. They'd live on forever. They'd be threatened for generations, long after Chiramii's own death. Was he insane for making that final promise?

Arceus shared the same thoughts as Chiramii. However, he seemed to be both confident in and humored by the tiny rodent Pokemon before him. "You have a big heart, though you are no more than a foot tall. You doubt your own strength and power. I see much potential in you. That is why I will allow you to attempt to undo the wrong that has met the Isshu region."

Chiramii's eyes widened. "R-really?"

"BUT," Arceus spoke so loudly and suddenly, Chiramii stumbled backwards and landed on his rump. "only if you prove your potential to me. Only three things survived the destruction of Isshu: You, and two sacred treasures that even the elders of Isshu were unaware of. If your heart is true, and your spirit is unyielding, then you shall find them easily."

"Two treasures? What are they?"

"That is for you to find out."

"Could I have any hints on where they are?"

"None whatsoever."

Chiramii gulped, the adrenaline vanishing from his system. "What happens if I don't find them?"

"Then I shall refuse to send you back into the time you once knew. You have less than a year to find them. When April the seventh, the anniversary of Isshu's downfall, returns… then your time will be up. If you come out successful from the one attempt that I will bestow upon you, then I will willingly revive Isshu and make it seem as if it never disappeared in the first place. You can then live on within the borders of the land you once called home, and no one will ever know of the things that you have faced to save them all. And… if you do not return to me with the two treasures by the deadline, or if you fail to prevent Isshu from falling into evil hands, then Isshu will never be revived… And I'll have the right to finish off the job."

"Finish… off… the job…?"

"I will permanently destroy all of Isshu and it can never be saved or revived after that. Consequently, I will have to destroy every other surviving aspect of that region… That means… that if you fail to save Isshu, you will fail to save yourself. You, Chiramii, will also be destroyed."

"But that's not fair at all!" Mesprit cried out. "I'll find the treasures for you, Arceus! You don't have to kill Chirakii. He's just an ordinary Pokemon!"

"No, Mesprit." Chiramii said. "I would rather die all over again knowing that I was trying to save all of Isshu than live on in Sinnoh knowing that I could have done something. I accept your challenge, Arceus."

"You have a fateful spirit, Chiramii. It is rare to find Pokemon who are as dedicated to their humans as you are. Whether you survive this challenge or not, you will be one of the few Pokemon that I will remember for generations to come."

"Is… that a good thing?"

"It can be both a good thing and a bad thing. A good thing… because of how hard you are trying to save your home and your trainer. A bad thing… because you started it all."


End file.
